Tempest's Requiem
by DraconicTempest
Summary: As long as there is death, there is life. Tempest lives a life of solitude away from the rest of Twilight town as its nameless demon. He scraped by on his own before he was taken away from his normal life and dropped into a desert to meet a fading memory. How does this workout? A street-hardened orphan and a broken memory fading into oblivion. [Current World: SKYWORLD] discontinued
1. Prologue: Wonderings of a Child

**A/N: I don't know how to say this nicely. I guess if you dislike furries, you either give this little fic a try or hate on it. This is the fifth time I've re-written this author note, the other four times I didn't post, so... yeah. I'll respect your choice for not wanting to keep reading. If you find the second-person view unattractive, read the next chapter, it's third-person pov over there.**

 _A friendly reminder from Storm_

* * *

 **Tempest's Requiem**

Prologue

Wonderings of a Child

You run down the alley, the old leather-bound book in your hands. You duck into a vent and worm your way through it, popping out on the other side. The other side, so to say, was just a small room full of knick-knacks, a pile of blankets in a corner, and a run down clothes drawer containing what little you have to wear on your body.

You dump the fairly small book on your bed, take off the lizard skull you always wear while outside, then walked over to your pile of 'trash', dropping some nuts and bolts into it. People call you crafty, enigmatic, and someone who isn't supposed to exist. You believe it's because of your orphan status. Or your face. That's the reason you wear that stinky skull in the first place; to hide your face and cover your emotions the outside world.

You dig around the bottom of the pile, looking for a piece of single, linked chain. You tend to make things for yourself as no one in that town would want to be friends with a freak of nature like you. You find one, only that it's already attached to a keychain. After a little while, you decide that the little gem wrapped inside the delicate metal weavings is worth more as it is, so you shove it into your pant pocket for safe keeping.

After a few more minutes of fruitless searching, you give up. You decide that doing the laundry is more productive than sitting here in this dark space doing nothing.

You pick up what little clothes you have and shove them all in the tattered backpack you own. Putting on the skull, you put the pack in front of you and push it out through the vent. Now outside, you pick it off the ground and run to the nearby washing store. You don't go to the front door; that a death sentence for a person like you. No, you crawl through an open window and use the abandoned, but still randomly operational, washing machine. You never questioned why it still worked, or if the shopkeep would notice the small spike in water fees, but after a few weeks, you started to use it more often and leniently.

Dumping the clothes into the machine, you set the heat to low. Before you start it, you open the door into the main room, sneak around the small space and grab a capless bottle of detergent. You absolutely hate the smell of detergent, so you hold your breath as you slip back into the room. You finish all the preparations and start the machine, watching as it chugs along melodically.

At some point, you must've fallen asleep while watching the hypnotic spin of the machine, as the window is no longer filtering harsh, mid-afternoon light, instead evening reds and oranges stream from it. Seeing that your clothes are finished flipping around, you dig them out and shove them into your pack and crawl back through the window to get outside again.

Back inside your 'lair' (you like to entertain yourself with things like that), you hang all the wet garments on the ceiling beams before crashing onto the worn out mat you call your bed.

In your mess of newfound boredom, you flip open the book, only to find out it was a journal. Someone called a 'Keyblade Master' wrote it too. Historical pieces of an unknown religion? Now _that_ peaked your interest.

.

.

.

And that died down as soon as you turned the page. The whole book was devoid of pages except the last two. And those two are depressing, even more so then your current living situation. AND this page is old. Even older than your seven years of living. Sure, you're smarter and more mature then the other kids, living most your known life on the streets can do that, but that doesn't mean you can handle someone else's pain and sorrow.

 _To whom it may concern: This journal was passed down to me by my teacher, who has recently disappeared. Although, she gave me one last request before wiping herself off the map: "Spread his memory, will you?". To honour her request, I did as I was told, to spread the pages of this journal across the worlds. To be honest, I'm not quite sure what she had in mind for this request, but I trusted her judgement._

 _The keychain that my teacher enchanted herself is here in this book. I hope whoever finds this journal can make use of it, as I could not._

You flip to the ending cover, finding an indentation containing the keychain. It was like the other keychain you found under a stack of nuts and bolts; a wire link chain with a gem interwoven inside a cage of metal. Only this gem was a light turquoise, and the metal tarnished and more of a brass, gold colour.

You pick up the dinky little thing and shake it around. Nothing happens. Now you are thoroughly disappointed with it. _Thoroughly._ _Disa-fricken-pointed._ It was supposedly enchanted, guess it couldn't stand the test of time.

With a groan, you toss it aside and continue on with the other existing page in the book. It's not cursive this time, but _really_ loopy writing. Jeez, is this so much harder to read.

 _Last of Master's line of light,_

 _Never caught in Darkness' sight._

 _Of storm and fire the greatest fall,_

 _Trapped between twin stone walls._

 _Two of six fall to sleep,_

 _Two of six left to weep._

 _One of six has taken loss,_

 _Of one he once called 'boss'._

 _The last of Master's line of dark,_

 _Has fallen down a cave too far._

Well, wasn't that cryptic? Master is repeated a few times. So is 'six'. You make out that 'sleep' probably means two people (you think? You're not quite sure) are dead because literature depicts kids mourning their 'eternally sleeping' parents or something.

Suddenly, you're 'ceiling' starts making noise. Instinctively, you close the book and shove yourself into the vent, ready to when the time came. You hope it doesn't happen today.

The noise stops, signalling whoever lives above you has stopped doing whatever they were doing. You let go of your breath and re-enter your room. At least it didn't happen today.

You sit back onto your bed, leaving the book and picking up the keychain again. You don't know why you picked it back up, you're compulsive like that.

You take some time to look it over in detail, tracing the folding and twisting brass tendril-like things around the skillfully cut gem. You tap the crystalline rock with your finger out of curiosity, or maybe the gut feeling something will happen if you do. Maybe it's because nothing interesting took place today, there wasn't some unorganized Struggle match, or some random mugging that usually took place in the alleyways of you're home. Nothing. Today was oddly quiet, and that ticked you off quite a bit. Not that you cared, but that conflict brought a little excitement into your days, even though you knew it wasn't a good thing. Even if you tried to do something, like stop the offender, the police will just take you for a devil and give the offender a free ticket out. You tried that once. And it ended like how it was told.

In all your doom and gloom, the trinket in your hands starts glowing. At first, it's nothing, just a faint glow that most people won't catch. Then it gets brighter and brighter slowly until it catches your attention. You move your hand to examine it, only for it to flash you with its damnable light. The room is washed in it, the pale turquoise glow enveloping everything in its grandeur.

Then, everything turns pitch black, the sensation of floating filling your bones. In your fear induced state, you try and move, only to find your body cemented in place. Floating but stuck. Quite ironic if you think hard enough.

Suddenly, you're thrown backwards, flying though non-exist air before hitting something solid behind you. You closed your eyes as you recovered, finding you could move again, and rubbing your temples. You are now _really_ confused, but not enough to make you stop thinking rationally.

Light forces your eyes shut as you reopened them, the sun harsh and unforgiving. Odd, because the sun was never like that. And that you were in your home, away from the light. The suddenly ground took form, becoming hard and rough right under your hand.

You open your eyes, to be greeted by the wide blue sky, not a single cloud in sight. Your home was never like this, as there were always clouds. Straight in front of you was red-brown sand spires, chasms and what can only be described as gravity-defying cliffs.

First thing's first, how the _hell_ did you end up here. Something shines in the blisteringly hot sun. You squint to see that it's the keychain. Maybe it brought you here? Is that its enchantment? You stand back up and walk over to retrieve the little bugger.

As soon as you snatch it up, a piano starts playing. It sounds far off, its tone echoing against the massive stone pillars and cliffs.

 **Play** _ **The Other Promise**_ **. Any type will do, as long as it is a piano version.**

Shoving it back into your pocket, you walk in the shade while trying to find the origin of the music. All you see is dust and sandstone, the sky is there too, but you just don't really want to think about it. It's _hot_.

Soon you reach a flat plane without any shade. With a growl, you pull up your hood as you don't have any protection for your face. Even if it doesn't cover your whole face. Whatever, it's better than nothing.

You walk near the edge of the plane, listening to the sombre music and scanning the oddly shaped metal swords stuck into the sandy dirt below. There's a long strip of barren land between the mass of blades, crossing with another barren line. The whole lower layer was like that, a giant cross right smack dab in the middle of it. Weird.

You enter into a different raven, the shade a welcoming sight for you. You really don't want heat stroke. You jump down a ledge and continue walking, the piano getting louder, telling you that you're getting close.

As soon as the music got loud enough for you to hear clearly, you're met by a roadblock… More like a tonne of boulders.

Now you're ready to throw a fit. You got this close, only for fate to through a boulder in your face. You got so worked up that you kicked the base of the pile, and a tiny rock popped out of it.

Rumbling, then the entire stack tumbles down. You manage to jump out of the way before one of them crushes you. All of those buggers whipped up quite a lot of dust, so much so that it made you cough.

After it settles, you continue down the rocky corridor, thinking how convenient that was. God was this place weird. Physics-defying, and random music that came from a piano, but where would someone find a flipping piano in a wasteland like this?

As soon as the corridor ended your question was answered. A man was playing a rundown piano. Weatherbeaten and cracking along the sides, it still gave a mournful sounding music.

The man himself wore a long, tan trench coat with dark red trimmings. Blond hair was tied back forming a short ponytail, and a golden brown pauldron covered his left shoulder. The shoulder plate didn't look like most typical pauldrons as it had more of a complicated design than needed. The most prominent part was the inlaid circle just around the spot where his shoulder was.

As if he sensed your presence he stopped playing and rested his hands on his thighs. He turns to face you, and you stop your advance.

He looked like a dragon that walked on two legs. Grey scales and ivory horns, you're surprised you had missed that feature. That and he was semi-transparent, his edges fading into the sandy background.

"It's been ages someone had visited," He says, a forlorn expression on his face, "I thought I'd fade alone."

Confused, you asked him what he means. He forces out a chuckle, looking back down at the piano.

"I'm just a memory, can't you see?" He gestures to his half faded body, "Bound to this place by things that held value to my friends." He pushed away the piano with his feet, revealing a nameless grave marked by the same pauldron as the ghostly one and one of those oddly shaped blades. A keychain hung from the end of the front heavy blade, brass in colour and a red gem in the center. The dragon man sighs,

"I wonder what happened to them… Maybe they died, maybe they gave in…"

Gave in to what?

"You're just a kid, why should you care?"

You're not _just_ a kid, you're an orphan being called a demon by the very town you live in.

"Humm?" He looks at you again, "You don't live on Reverant?"

You angrily ask him what that is.

"Oh. I see. How about Traverse Town?"

No. You live in Twilight Town.

"Twilight? I didn't know… never mind." He puts his hand on his chin.

You tell him that it's your turn to ask questions. He nods aimlessly, deep in thought, though you are too pissed off to notice that. You ask what that blade thing is.

"Oh, that? That old this is a Keyblade. It can be used to tip the scales of balance them." You growl in annoyance, more cryptic nonsense.

"In addition to balancing light and darkness, it can open any lock. A nice perk if you ask me."

Where the hell are you?

"The...Keyblade…Graveyard…" He looks like he's having a panic attack, even as a ghost, "Sorry… its name brings back memories that I rather keep locked up."

So.. it's a different world?

"No hiding this from you, huh?" He puts a hand on his cheek to look at you, "Yes, this is a different world. In fact, every star you see up there in the night sky is a world."

Why the hell are you here and who are you?

"Ha!" He stands up, putting his hands on his hips, "My name's Christopher, but just Chris is fine. I was a Master of the Keyblade once, before my fall of course." You walk up to him, looking up at an angle to stare into his eyes. He looks you dead in the eyes and says,

"Even if I just met you, would you care if I took you in as my student? I'd feel more useful to the world if I did so."

For some odd reason, you are compelled to say yes. And so you did. He kneels down and pulls down your hood.

"It's nice to meet another Armonian after all these years." He says, vaguely smiling. As if you reminded him of someone long gone.

* * *

 **A/N: So... Furries. It's more of a representation. It also gives me options to play with because of his appearance. Like the summary said: I added four new characters. Two of them are present in this chapter, the other two may not appear for a long while. Yes, all are 'Furries'. I started out drawing 'Furries' so I have a natural attachment to them. So I'd rather not have to deal with hate because I wrote something that involves 'furries' and the sin of all fanfics: Insert fic. I don't care. I grew up dreaming of this thing, so this is what naturally comes to mind when I have the motivation to write.**

 **Now my rant is over. Reviews are nice, constructive one mostly. No hate, please. If you don't like this prologue because of it's second-person style, don't worry, it'll switch to either first or third next chapter.**

 **~Storm**


	2. Chapter 1: A Time Long Gone

**A/N: AS WRITTEN AS A SCATTERBRAIN...I suck at continuity. And a straight timeline. This thing had so many cuts and versions to it that I just compensated and just gave you people a really chopped up version with all the parts you need. This is why scatterbrains make the worse stories; everything lacks continuity and lots of things don't make sense...**

 **Disclaimer (as I didn't do one for the prologue): I don't own the worlds, characters, ideas of Kingdom Hearts. Tempest and Christopher are my children and they are mine.**

 **Now for some (ONE.[I'm not mad, I swear. I usually never get any reviews this early on so, thank you])**

 **Court818: I think my profile pic is an accurate representation of Tempest, though it's a little outdated (really outdated). Maybe when I get around drawing a Cover you'll see his updated design. Maybe even show off some of the other ocs I made for this. =:3**

 **(Watching NicoB swear and play KH2 at 2 am in the morning is not healthy, but I still do it. I need to get a life. I also apologize in advance if this chapter sucks and hard to follow. *Has problems like most creative people*) ~Storm**

* * *

Chapter 1

A Time Long Gone

 _You've been here before, dear friend._ A pure white platform glowed brilliantly, blinding the little drake Armonian with its light.

 _A fractured mind, A shattered heart._ The light peeled off the circular platform and transforming into flower petals in midair, fluttering above Tempest. With the cover now gone, it revealed its true nature as a stained glass floor. It was simple, just several pieces of blue, green and red glass that made no picture.

 _You've been here before._

 _You chose the shield and forfeited the wand_. A shield lay in the center of the platform, with its red edges and black centre. Hesitantly, Tempest walked over and scooped it up, examining it thoroughly.

 _You never had enough time._ Tempest broke his gaze from the mirror-like shield to look up at the pitch black sky. Before he could shout out, everything was swallowed by the surrounding darkness, the light of the platform shutting off like a bulb.

"Gah!" Tempest bolted up from his spot on the ground, looking out at the barren wasteland of The Keyblade Graveyard. Getting up, he spotted a figure sitting on an outcropping of rock sitting there with their hood up. As Tempest approached them, they spoke, revealing their gender and face.

"What are you terrified of?" The white-furred she-wolf asked, ice blue eyes shining below the navy blue jacket hood.

"Being different. But appears I already am." Tempest said as some unknown force prodded him to.

"Is it really a bad thing? Being different than everyone else?" She looked out unto the horizon, fading before Tempest could argue.

He huffed before following a narrow path to a cliff ledge, where a cloth headband wearing black panther Armonian stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What do you seek in this life?" He asked, looking down at the drake, warm blue eyes watching him. Tempest looked down, avoiding his gaze.

 _Answer. You don't have the time._

"Fine!" He spat, looking the panther square in the eyes, "I seek my place in this world, to find where I belong."

"Don't you already have a place?" The black panther questioned before fading like the wolf. A cavern door materialized in the rock side, beckoning Tempest to enter.

It leads to a torch-lit hallway, a human wearing a white cloak like thing blocking the narrow path. Dark brown hair and twin scars cover of his face, his expression neutral as he watched Tempest.

"What do you treasure most, young one?" The man asked. Tempest looked down to see the old diary laying on the dirt. He picked it up before replying to the man standing in front of him,

"My possessions and my valuables," Tempest said grimly. Friends and fame never meant anything to him, as he never had any people who cared about his existence, it was always 'KILL THE DEMON' or something along those lines.

"What happened to you?" The weary man said, looking worried before fading.

' _Who was he?_ ' Tempest asked himself before entering into a dark room.

 _Peculiar. You have changed._ He growled, turning around only to see more darkness. He spun around, gritting his teeth as he tried to find the source.

 _Little drake, you fear your apparent abnormality, you seek new horizons and value your material items._ The floor gave way to another platform, this time a heart was depicted in the middle of a mosaic of glass shards.

 _A peculiar being. Made of shatter pieces and shared parts… Maybe they are rubbing off on you…_ Tempest was thrown off the platform by an unseen force, plummeting into the abyss below, screaming.

_|-w-|_

Four years since he found Chris. Three years since he had that nightmare. Two since the unexpected summoning of the Keyblade right into his hand. And less than one year since Chris started slipping.

"Are you sure your fine?" Tempest asked as Chris phased through the piano keys. Grimacing, Chris made a fist.

"I can't exactly lie to you anymore, can I?" He chuckled, releasing it to look at Tempest, "Yeah, I am slipping. Guess it was time too."

"Finally honest with me," Tempest breathed, letting the Keyblade in his have to touch the ground. A dull blue-grey shaft with an offset handle, the fangless serpent's maw open under the shaft while a frill stood as the teeth of the 'key'.

"I now wonder who's the parent and who's the child," Chris muttered while staring at his fading hands. With a sudden jerk, he snapped his finger, seemingly summoning forth a semi-transparent pale blue Heartlesses. Tempest quickly reacted, swiftly striking the approaching spectral Shadows. He's somewhat pissed now after Chris pulled a surprise attack on him.

"Looks like I'm still teaching~" Chris smiled, going back to playing random melodies on the piano. Tempest growled. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently, getting angry at the Keyblade Master for no apparent reason. He clubbed a spectral Shadow, watching it fly over the wall that surrounded the shaded area. Venting. It was a nice feeling.

.

.

.

Soon the blistering sun was swallowed by the horizon, leaving the stars to shine brightly against the deep purple of space. Tempest sat down on the ground, spotting constellations in the sky and connecting them with imaginary strings.

Chris was sitting cross-legged in front of his makeshift grave, watching the glitter and glint of a red jewelled necklace as it hung from his old Keyblade. Most days he would reminisce about his old life, something that he never readily shared with Tempest. All Tempest really knew was that he lost everything he loved, his home, his friends and his father figure.

Tempest looked away, and instead opening up the old diary. Even if there were two pages, there were more mysteries in it then a master author can shove in a novel. He went back to the poem, having several sticky notes pasted around it.

' _Master'= Keyblade Master._

 _'_ _Greatest'= A person_

 _'_ _Twin Stone Walls'= Two cliffs? A hole? Manmade? A ravine?_

 _'_ _Six'= 6 people/things/Armonians?_

"What's this?" Tempest slammed the shell of the book closed before turning around, glaring. Chris was standing over him, bending over to see.

"What the hell!" Tempest shouted, leaning away from Chris.

"Sorry," He apologized, cupping a hand on the back of his neck, "Thought that thing looked familiar, so I came to take a peek."

"What's so familiar about an old, dusty book?" Tempest huffed, relaxing a bit, "I found this thing in a ditch four years ago and all it has is cryptic bullcrap and a note."

"A note?" Chris quizzed, sitting down to take a closer look. Tempest flipped a page, revealing the note. Chris' curious expression turned sour, the light of the moon making it look grim.

"Damn, self-sacrificing tendencies." He mumbled, surprising Tempest as he had never seen his teacher so upset, "I guess she blames herself…"

"Who?" Tempest blurted out subconsciously as he scribbled something else on an empty sticky.

"An old friend of mine."

' _Of course, he doesn't give me a straight answer._ ' Tempest mentally facepalmed, dropping his pen mid-sentence, ' _That wouldn't be mysterious enough._ '

"She was the enchanter. Always giving us trinkets and totems." Chris put a hand on his chin, a distant look in his eyes. He held up the transparent necklace that was a mirror match for the one that hung on the makeshift grave.

"She gave this on the eve before of our homeworld's demise." The little pendant spun around on the cord, the serpentine dragon that curled around a ruby gem looking scraped and dented.

"I'm honestly surprised that it survived, what, 12 years?" He chuckled.

"Even that cord?" Tempest asked, looking genuinely interested.

"Yup, even the cord," Chris said, dropping it back onto his chest.

"That's the first time in four years that you said _anything_ about your past." Tempest noted, "First time since that you had a seizure after that time I asked."

"Aren't you blunt, note taker?" Chris drawled, "Kinda like Eraqus."

"Oh, hell," Tempest huffed, already knowing who that was, "I am not like that babysitter that you keep telling me about!"

"Sure you aren't," Chris said, flopping down on the ground and putting his arms behind his head.

"Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that empty head of your's."

"Hey! Now that hurt!"

"See if I care!"

"Well, I can see you do care!"

"Uh, Chris. You can't really do anything with a stick…"

"Watch me! Thundaga!"

*CRACK*

"HOLY-"

_|-w-|_

Tempest's body still stung from the thunder spell Chris casted last night. After that, he immediately returned back to Twilight Town to escape the torrent of spells Chris casted spontaneously afterwards. The amount of bloody mana he has is insane. Tempest can only cast a lousy Fire that basically kills itself mid-flight.

"Training. He would say," Tempest grumbled, sitting on a rooftop spectating the ongoing tournament, "As if I hadn't gotten enough of that with your memories that you put me up against. Even the skinny bugs." He facepalmed, "The skinny bugs." those things. He hated the Unversed. Fast and could remain unhittable for a while. They were the essence of annoyance.

Exasperated, he blocked out the noise of the tournament and shoving his previous rant to the back of his head before losing himself to another one. Wondering what life could've been if he had been born a 'normal' child.

_|-w-|_

 **Entry # 100**

Eraqus. Ever since I came back with a kid in a coma, he has been none stop asking me if I was ok. Look, old man, I'm fine! All I do is get dragged off by Xehanort and you throw a fit… I guess you still do have a point. I did vanish without a trace for, what? Five years? Now that I know about that promise you made my father, I don't think I can blame you for being a little overprotective. Even if Terra is an annoying little squirt. Speaking of Terra, I have some training to be taking care of, because who knows where the hell Kage is off doing. Probably noping right on out of here. Saki's probably burnt another forest if I had to guess.

_|-w-|_

"Six years of isolation can do stuff to you." Chris said, holding the torn page in his hand, "Where'd you find this?"

"Donno," Tempest replied, eating a piece of bread, "Appeared in the vent sometimes after a major storm. Probably got stuck in the wall or something."

"Hail?" Chris asked, opening the old diary of his. Tempest shook his head,

"No, just a regular t-thunderstorm." Tempest stuttered. He still hasn't gotten over that incident. Chris shrugged in acceptance before placing the loose page into the journal,

"Mend." He commanded, holding a glowing green clawed finger over the ripped part, watching it reattach itself to the book's spine. Once he finished, he picked up the journal and studied it in amazement.

"I knew she taught me that for a reason." He said, checking the connection to the spine.

"Guess she did," Tempest said flatly, shoving the plastic wrapper into his jacket pocket, "What was Saki like, anyways?"

"Eh?" Chris gapped, turning away. Tempest took the journal from Chris' loosened grip.

"What? Something wrong?"

"Oh, yeah." Chris looked really embarrassed, "She was… Uh, overwhelming… and really hyper."

"How hyper?"

"So, there was a time she jumped out a window, over a chasm, and threw me off a cliff." Chris was visibly shaking, "It was... a...traumatic moment."

"O-oh... " Tempest ran that scenario through his head, wincing at the oddly cheerful expression he gave the silhouette. Before he could tell Chris to stop, he continued on with another incident.

"Then there was that other time she casted Firaga over a forest… Kage, my other friend, just kinda 'noped' out of there. He does that a lot." Chris added, "Then, trying to fix her mistake, she used…"

"Aero?" Tempest asked, hoping that wasn't it.

"...Worse." Chris said, squeezing his eyes shut and holding his hands in a prayer position, "It was an Aeroga. While the forest fire had already reached its max potential…"

"I wonder why she taught you 'Mend' then…"

_|-w-|_

"What made you start telling me about your past?" Tempest asked, dismissing his Keyblade after practicing his aim(if he could miss a point-blank shot, he one hundred percent will). Chris pulled out an old, chipped violin from a compartment in the piano before tossing it to Tempest.

"I guess since I was fading, I might as well leave something behind," He replied, still digging around in the dust compartment, "And you remind me of someone back then."

"Right."

"What?" A violin bow flew through the air. Tempest jumped up and snatched it as it flew, "I had another kiddo before you, ya know. And boy was he speedy thing …"

"One more?" Tempest started to tune it, plucking the strings.

"Well, technically there was three, but I mainly trained with one of them. The other two were either taken care of by Eraqus, Kage or Saki."

"All Keybearers?"

"Yup, though, I don't actually know what happened to them..."

"All of them self-sacrificing?"

"No. At least I don't think so…"

"Well, you are." Tempest pointed out.

"Hey!" Chris turned around, staring at Tempest accusingly, "I didn't _try_ to die! I got dropped off a cliff!"

"And died falling…" Tempest muttered, taking note of that, "How about we get back to working on that 'hand-eye coordination' you keep yapping about?"

"Sure thing!"

_|-w-|_

Chris, over the years, steadily became what Tempest considered 'trustworthy'. He had long thought that the moving memory would be there forever, standing in his little section of the wasteland playing the old, creaky piano. He thought maybe he could finally have a person to talk to, another person like him. That he found in Christopher, a listening companion and the first person he willingly called 'friend'. There, in the wasteland, he found a place to recharge his near empty tank of motivation, a place to rest and loosen his tangled web of life.

"What was Reverant like?" Tempest asked absentmindedly as the took on a blockade of Large Bodies.

"First of all, Reverant is actually the name of the archipelago of islands, the real name of my home is Hathen. The island of gold and misfortune as sailors from the mainland called it." Chris answered, sitting on a cliff watching the battle ensue, "I guess it really was misfortune as it was swallowed by something as rare as Darkness at that time."

"How was life there?" Tempest grunted after flipping over the bumbling Heartless meat shields.

"It was a quiet place, nobody really visited much." Chris hummed, "And our technology was limited to the iron age. Kage was the apprentice blacksmith at the time, a genius at work the villages called him. "

"Really?" Tempest threw his Keyblade, letting it strike the line of enemies, "How so?"

"Well… he made the Keyblade armours of this generation. Even though he followed a blueprint, most blacksmiths would've just thrown their tools at the nearest wall and scream in a corner for half an hour." Chris pointed at the pauldron stuck in the earth, the brownish plate face and the light grey rimming. The most prominent piece was the circle of grey right in the middle of the brownish plate face.

"Sometimes, if you asked, he wouldn't shut up about his 'Magnum Opus', huh. Kage's a handful when he starts goin'." Chris scratched his head, "Even more so when he's training. If the chief was a kid and my companion, it would be Kage while high on caffeine and sugar."

"What was the... Chief like?...Overbearing?" Tempest huffed, finishing off the spectral Heartless.

"Bingo," Chris confirmed, pointing two finger guns at Tempest and winking, "And my Guardian at the time. Also the father of Saki. Thank god she didn't inherit that trait. That wouldn't have ended very well."

"Right…" Tempest said, sitting down on the dry earth.

"Plus, she never had a thing for leading people. It was more, 'BAM, now you're stuck in a tree!' or 'BAM, I enchanted this piece of crap to calm the waves!' Etc. etc." Chris did what appeared to be an imitation of Saki's voice, overly high and pitchy and it screeched in your ears. Kind of like a cicada or an eagle's cry multiplied by ten then pitched to the max. In essence? Annoying and it kills brain cells.

"Uhh...Ok…?" Tempest honestly didn't know how to respond to whatever the heck Chris was ranting about. He was lost around the first 'BAM'.

"Then there was that one time that…" Tempest just blocked out the noise, deeming it whatever the heck Chris was spewing was nonsense and not worth losing brain cells for. Like a lot of what he said nowadays actually…

' _Not sure if I should be concerned or not…_ ' Tempest wondered, watching Chris rant from the side. Then the dragon Armonian absentmindedly kicked the nearby stone wall, immediately hopping around in pain and clutching his foot.

"Damn it!"

' _Maybe I should…_ ' Tempest grimaced, watching his idiot mentor make a fool of himself.

_|-w-|_

' _I'm tired of waking up in tears, 'Cause I can't put to bed these phobias and fears. I'm new to this grief I can't explain, But I'm no stranger to the heartache and the pain_.' ~Owlcity

_|-w-|_

"Hey, do me a favour, will ya?"

"Hum? Sure, whatever."

"After I...Leave, find the rest of these pages, alright?"

"Some lousy pages? Fine. But you aren't leavin' just yet!"

"Ha! Aren't you a brainiac!"

"N-no! Nope, no noogies, for f-!"

"You can't save yourself from me!"

"WHY?!"

_|-w-|_

 _Take my armour and my time,_

 _And find the world without rhyme_

 _Keep my blade and worthless name_

 _To find the people I have shamed_

 _Wear my pendant with all its pride_

 _And know where all my hardships lie_

 _When all fame and glory fall_

 _Know the time when duty calls_

~Found carved into a piano in a wasteland world. Indentations in the nearby dirt suggested someone had read this poem and followed it's cryptic directions. Whoever it is must be destroyed, as they might pose a problem.

* * *

 **A/N: Everything you need to know is in here. I will only answer questions that won't spoil anything and everything I answer will be added before the Chapter starts. Reviews are welcome. Don't torment me, I don't feel like dealing with anything. ~A Tired Storm**


	3. Chapter 2: A Place for the Lost

**A/N: I made the Guard Armour way bigger. Because I thought I wasn't big enough to be a threat. Plus, first interaction.**

 **~ Storm**

* * *

Chapter 2

A Place for the Lost

Tempest fiddled with the strap of the pauldron half-heartedly, sitting on a roof with the sunset behind him. Exasperated, he gave up for the moment and took the pauldron off and placed it beside him.

As for Christopher's 'death' (he made it clear he had already died once, painfully as he would have corrected Tempest), he took it as well as he could, after all, death and suffering was common in the alleyways as cat and dog corpses lay there rotting unattended and in Tempest's part of town, murderers were present in said alleyways. He'd learned to stop mourning the dead at some point, as it didn't bode well with survival instincts.

He didn't take it well, even if he says he did. He will never take it well if he were, to be honest. So whatever that cryptic poem meant, Tempest would see it through the best he could.

Tempest took out the red jewelled pendant and rubbed it with his thumb. He didn't plan on wearing it, so he just shoved it back into his pocket and hoped that counted as 'wearing'. Hopefully.

Feeling a bit better, and a little more motivation, he picked the pauldron up and finally clipped on the strap. Rolling his left shoulder, he tested out the weight of the pauldron. Finding it to be alright, he got up from sitting on the roof edge and looked around for a secluded area. Finding none, he left that roof and left for a different view, leaping from rooftop to rooftop looking for one.

Sometimes people would look up and gasp, catching a glimpse of a red jacket whizzing past on the rooftop. Most people wouldn't recognize it, as Tempest never wore bright colours like red while travelling, but he had the nerve to go steal something before he left and that jacket was what he chose. It wasn't really stealing, more like buying something discreetly and leaving the payment on the counter, but Tempest just called it stealing because 'buying something discreetly' was too long for his tastes.

He bypassed the gate that led into the woods, jumping over it and front rolled to lessen the impact before breaking into a sprint again. As soon as the gates were out of sight, Tempest stopped and took a moment to catch his breath.

Seeing a clearing up ahead, Tempest walked over, confident that no one was there. He was met by the rusty gate of a mansion with ivy clinging to its worn brick walls.

"Time to leave…" he told himself quietly, pulling out the serpent-headed keyblade. In one swift motion, like he had done this plenty of times before, pointed the tip at the sky and opened a hole in the barrier. He then flipped the key into the sky before activated the armour, albeit clumsy. As soon as a light flashed in the sky, the armoured figure was gone with the hole in the sky.

_|-w-|_

As he didn't have any experience with travelling in the Lanes between, Tempest simply landed at the nearest world which happened to be where people of darkness swallowed worlds find refugee. That's also how he found out that he has a habit of landing on roofs.

"Ack!" falling face first into it is also a habit he'll probably won't break in a while. Getting up with a groan, the armour and glider fading in a whirl of light, he scanned his surroundings and noted that a)he was on a purple tiled roof, b)it was night time, c) there was a crap ton of lamps and d)people.

Even if it was a different world, Tempest was not one to take huge risks that might mean something in the long term.

' _So I'm sticking to rooftops, yes?_ ' he asked himself, dusting off his cloths, ' _Also, no messing with other people's crap._ '

Standing straight up, he watched people do their daily routine as they wondered about. They all looked worried, tense as if something would pop up and murder them. He hopped to another roof, doing his best to stay silent as he did so.

Most buildings looked as if they were built on a whim, probably to compensate for the influx of people. Or they were torn down or destroyed a lot.

Tempest watched at a spark of light flew in, landing somewhere nearby. He didn't particularly care, just decided that it was another form of space transportation.

Suddenly, dark blobs surrounded him, jumping up to form Shadows. Tempest summoned his blade, not so worried about the threat the ant creatures posed.

' _I wonder how different you guys are compared to the spectral versions…_ ' he thought, letting the dark creatures advance before striking them all down.

"Not really," he muttered before taking off again.

Sometime later, a bipedal duck and dog appeared looking and calling for a guy named 'Leon'. Tempest found them interesting, so he stalked them. With good intentions, of course. There was also a kid, running around with a newly created Keyblade in hand and attracting Heartless from a mile away. Clearly, he didn't know what the hell he was holding, only that it can make the Heartless go 'Poof'. Tempest had a mind to go and tell him but refrained from doing so. All he did was quietly take down some Heartless that appeared in his area.

Things got interesting right after the kid left one shop. Another guy stopped him and started speaking to the blade-wielding kid.

All Tempest could catch was the fact how Heartless fear the Keyblade, how they want to destroy the wielder and other generic things. Then the guy with the scar wondered aloud why the keyblade would choose a child.

' _Because it did, satisfied?_ ' Tempest answered non-vocally as he watched the kid talk back.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The ignorant kid asked, bending down to a fighting stance.

' _Look at that posture, it looks like his spine is broken…_ ' Tempest noted, grinding his teeth a little as he continued to watch the exchange.

"Nevermind," And more yapping. Part of him wanted to see something interesting after a lot of running around and spying. The other part just wanted to find that page. Then the scar guy pulled out a blade. That was crossed with a gun.

' _Is...isn't that unnecessary?_ ' As the two crossed blades and started fighting. And the kid was totally outmatched. Well, he did 'win'. But he just fainted shortly afterwards from exertion. The keyblade was held by the scar guy and the kid himself was carried away by another person.

' _Well now...Time to move on._ ' And turned tail and left the area.

_|-w-|_

"Where the hell did all you come from!" Tempest growled, completely annoyed, "This is the fifth wave of you guys!"

An armoured Heartless jumped up from behind him, only to be slashed in half. He leaped to another roof, only to be swarmed again.

"I blame this on the kid who left his Keyblade out too flipping long!" Tempest shouted at the sky before climbing a vertical wall to a taller building.

"Fire!" half the swarm burned as he casted that spell, the other half bit the blade before disappearing into shadows.

"I am so flipping done with all of you!" He shouted, waving his keyblade at the abominations before a large explosion rocked the earth. Turning around, Tempest saw the remains of a large light pillar and two distinct shapes falling. He leaped and ran over a few buildings before reaching a clearing, the kid, duck and dog in a pile on top of each other. More Heartless appeared, blocking off the exits for the trio in the clearing.

"Great. I have a feeling something is going to drop out of the sky…" As soon as all the Heartless were defeated, something fell from the sky.

"I was being sarcastic!" He yelled at the multicoloured Guard Armour as it assembled itself. The trio below didn't take notice of the very pissed Armonian up on the rooftops and instead charged the immediate threat. And they were clearly outmatched, as the towering Heartless managed to sweep them all off their feet for every attack attempted against it. Any aerial assault was easily knocked away.

"I am done sitting and watching, you little piece of crap!" Tempest proclaimed, leaping off the roof and diving into a crevasse in the armour. As soon as he entered, he latched onto a ledge while inside the beast.

"Thunder!" and blasted a spell from inside it, frying its core to a crisp. The Guard Armour shuttered and froze, and before it could collapse and crush Tempest, he swung out the left armhole and scaled the wall before running out of the trio's sight.

The cries of 'Hey! Come back!' didn't stop him, it made him question why the heck did he do that.

' _I was pissed at the dumb Heartless, that is a justifiable reason._ ' he settled on, slipping into a vent and popping out onto another rooftop. He watched for a brief second as the trio hit the dead end he led them to, before moving out of sight.

"Where'd he go?"

"He just disappeared into thin air!"

"Gawsh, do you think he might've used magic?"

' _No, I'm just really good at climbing._ ' Tempest thought spitefully before spotting some pages wedged between two building. He walked over and carefully pried the sheets out, reading them in order of number.

 **Entry #1**

So...I don't see a point in writing a diary, but Saki seems to know why people do this. Only she won't tell me, like most Shamen things. This won't be a daily thing, as I don't feel like wasting time if I could be doing something else that is actually productive. Or maybe venting.

 **Entry #2**

Looks like Saki decided to _burn another forest_. God this is getting old. Kage won't stop yapping about his 'Magnum Opus' even though he hasn't started working on it. Now even he is being really defensive and not telling me crap. God, Saki is rubbing off on all of us. At least Eraqus is sensible. To a degree.

 **Entry #3**

Scratch that, Eraqus is not sensible. He likes his floor too much. And his training is living hell. Now Saki won't shut up about how good my sandwiches are, I get it, you like the mayo I used but that doesn't mean I made the mayo! This is the most dysfunctional system I had the good will to take part in. God, I hope someone straightens this crap out before I lose my mind.

There's a small envelope in the package too.

 **Saki's Letters #4**

Hey Chris

It's Kage. I'm taking over for now. Lupa's on a mission to patrol a world, apparently, it's called 'Neverland', I think it's right up her alley. (is that how you use it?) other than that, Eraqus is thinking about something, dunno what it is but it's probably just a thing. Oh ya, Also Lupa wanted to send you your diary, you forgot it. So ya, cheers!

Kage

Tempest pulled out Chris' diary and fused the pages back into the book, the envelope was tucked into a sleeve behind the cover. Closing the journal, he put it back into an inner pocket before leaving the area completely via rooftops.

_|-w-|_

Tempest found it nice to know that the armour pieces could be summoned individually. The helmet was currently in his lap, it's back panel flipped open and a few rubber coated wires poking out of it. He had a screwdriver in his mouth and looked pretty focused on his task.

"That should fix the HUB, god was that a mess of wires. Who thought this was a good idea?" Tempest muttered, spitting out the screwdriver. Closing the panel with a click, he put the helmet on his head and checked the display.

"Ha!" Tempest cheered, pumping his arm into the air as the visor display lit up in a pale blue colour. The 'jaw' part separated to accompany his jaw as he talked. It clicked when he shut his mouth, sealing the helmet from the outside.

' _At least I know how this works now,_ ' Tempest thought while slipping the helmet off and willing it away.

"HEY KID!"

' _Crap._ ' Was the only thought that ran through his head before he bolted, not even looking down for the person that growled.

"Jeez! What is with kids these days?" Tempest vaulted over a pipe and onto a large, flat roof. He checked the area around him before relaxing just a bit.

"Next world, I'm _done_ here!" He declared, donning the armour and glider before shooting off into the sky along with another speck.

* * *

 **A/N: Nothing too concerning. I have already started the next chapter and for it, I have two words. Disney Hyperion. If it's still Disney, does it still have to be a crossover or no? I'm not too sure about that. I might change TR to crossover, but I'm not too sure. After all, there will be more worlds than just the next one, but if I do it'll be crossover-ception, right? Because Kingom Hearts is already a crossover of Disney and FF? And Disney Hyperion is a branch of Disney? But it's owned by the author, no? So is it even a crossover?**

 **... this just turned onto a rant, didn't it? This is why you don't let a scatterbrain write an author's note; it just gets confusing...**

 **~Storm**


	4. Chapter 3: A World Never Trodden

**A/N: Yes, it's bloody flippin' Percy Jackson. I know that this takes place over several days, but gummi ship travels, by my Head cannons, really slow, much slower than using the Lanes Between and the Keyblade Gliders. Because KH1 couldn't be in the time frame of _one day_. That isn't humanly possible. So yeah. Hang tight. Also: bad characterization is bad . ~Storm**

 **Disclaimer (These are erratic): I don't own PJO or Kingdom Hearts in any way, Tempest is mine. So is Chris, Saki and Kage. AKA, If it's canon, it's not mine. If it ain't canon, it's mine. Basically.**

* * *

Chapter 3

A World Never Trodden

Travelling in space was never a favourite of Tempest, even if he had done it only once. It was suffocating for him but not physically, he just got this twisting feeling in his chest as he flew through the deep multi-coloured void of space. And the rocks that seem to always get in his way, zipping in front of Tempest as if they were threatening him. He didn't think much of it, just dodged when they got too close for comfort. Space was fine, for the first trip at least.

Then the Heartless came in swarms and knocked him off course and into the portal into another world. Tempest had lost control at some point during the dive, getting pulled in without a struggle.

' _FRICKEN SHIP ANTS._ ' was the only thought that ran through Tempest's brain before hitting the dirt. He got up and shook himself off before some weak Heartless appeared, jumping up from the puddles of shadows they travelled in.

"Go get someone else!" Tempest growled, taking off his glider to have his Keyblade. The yellow-eyed beasts advanced, some Large Bodies appearing from behind trees or out of the thick fog.

"I never get a break after I left, jeez!" Tempest remarked, hacking his way through the wave of Shadows, then flipping over the wall of Large Bodies to get to their weak points. After he was certain all the Heartless were gone, he quickly dispelled his blade to avoid attracting more.

Then the pitter, patter of rain was audible as it was masked by the racket the swarm of Heartless made. Tempest made a note not to take his armour off, not yet. He didn't particularly like rain or water, or any liquid covering him.

Tempest wandered around a bit, as he had no map or any sense of location right now, soon coming up to a dirt path. The rain was coming down hard now, smacking the brownish plates of his armour with audible bangs.

"Hmmm," Tempest hummed, rubbing the dull plating of his armour in an attempt to get the mud off. He gave up shortly after starting, seeing no point.

' _I guess there are people in this world…_ ' He thought as he walked along the side of the road, heading to his left.

Suddenly, a roaring engine could be heard, headlights bouncing in the distance. Tempest acted on instinct, quickly dropping to the ground and laying flat to avoid detection.

A car whizzed past in a hurry as it sprayed mud water into the air. As soon as the car passed, another thing raced after it, its forms a massive shape that seemed to fall forward with each leap.

' _What the hell?'_ Tempest got up, covered mud and leaves. A crack of lightning split the sky, blinding he because it's close proximity. A slurping noise directly after the lighting warned him of another threat.

"Damn… followed me here…" Tempest growled, glaring at the Shadows that popped up. Some Air Soldier Heartless appeared too, swooping down from the sky and stared blankly at Tempest's Keyblade as he summoned it to fend off the attacking Shadows. The Heartless force started piling and pushed Tempest back towards where the lightning bolt struck the earth.

Something roared behind him, shifting the trees and shaking the ground.

"Fire!" Tempest shouted, setting the front line alight before he ran off away from the swarm. A tall pine tree could be seen now, growing atop a hill alone.

The car that had passed Tempest was a mess, a steaming wreck in a ditch with its roof torn off.

"No!" A boy's cry pierced the torrent of rain, a sound of someone desperate for something. Tempest cut down the next wave of Heartless before turning to catch a glimpse of the boy. An assumed twelve year old with jet black hair with green eyes and a snarl at his lips.

The kid was facing off a man-bull, in the literal sense.

' _Minotaur,_ ' Tempest's brain supplied while he was trying to _not die_. Tempest just cut off all noise and turned back to focus on the swarm, cutting them down slowly but surely.

Suddenly, the Heartless retreated all at once, turning into puddles that were absorbed by the earth. Before he could react, something slammed into Tempest and pinned him against a wide tree, the force causing leaves to fall out. As soon as the blackness from his vision cleared, he was meet with the blank stare of a Bull shaped Heartless, it's mouth hanging open as it drew many unsteady breaths before roaring.

"Oh, frick you," Tempest grumbled, putting his feet against the thing's head to try and get away from it only for it to set itself on fire and start steaming from the downpour of rain, boiling the water as soon as it touched the flames.

"NOPE, I HATE THIS ALREADY." Tempest yelped, shifting his feet onto the horns to avoid the flames.

The Bull Heartless bellowed it's jagged mouth opening revealing the entirety of its pink, toothless maw. Tempest, taking the opportunity, shoved his Keyblade into its mouth and casted Thunder. It shuttered and made a choking sound as it tried to escape, the spell seemingly did nothing as it kept Tempest against the tree. He tried again,

"Thunder!" and this time it exploded in a firework of dark purple dust, soon fading into a heart-shaped crystal-like thing, dropping Tempest to the ground with a thump. The freed heart flew off immediately, disappearing into the grey, crying clouds.

"I'm beginning to regret leaving…" Tempest huffed, getting back onto his feet and dispelled his keyblade. Taking a look at where the 'Minotaur' was, he saw nothing, only a horn, the kid and his half goat friend lying unconscious on the ground at the top of the hill with the pine tree.

"And I'm going to regret my next action…" Tempest huffed with a shake of his head, walking up to the figures in the mud. He was stopped by a field, walking right into it.

"Of course! This world just gets _better_ and _better_." He hissed, putting a hand on his snout and drawing his blade out with his free hand to carve a temporary entrance in the magic barrier.

' _I don't even know why I'm putting up with this…_ ' Passing through the hole and dispelling his Keyblade once again. With a visible pulse in the barrier, the hole's edges glowing white before being slowly filled in as if the wall were alive. Tempest, disregarding the wall, walked over to the two, picked up and pocketed the horn and started dragging the both of them over to the building nearby, it's light glowing through the heavy fog.

.

.

.

Tempest put the sopping wet duo against the wooden wall before removing most of his armour except his helmet, gauntlets and boots as they completely hid his non-human nature. Just as he rolled his sleeves up a bit, the door to the building opened without warning.

"Ah!" Tempest jumped, twisting his head around to see a horseman (Centaur, it's a Centaur dumbass, his brain corrected his even though he didn't really care) and a blonde girl in the doorway. The centaur glanced at the unconscious and wet bodies propped up against the wall before looking at Tempest.

"Are you the young man who brought them here?" The middle-aged centaur asked while the girl behind him muttered something under her breath.

"Yes…?" Tempest answered, unsure while rubbing his arm profusely. The centaur turned to the stormy-eyed girl,

"Bring them to the infirmary," Then back to Tempest, "I want to talk to you, young man." And turned to trot back into the building, motioning for Tempest to follow.

' _Oh boy, I'm screwed aren't I?_ ' Tempest thought, hesitantly following the centaur into the building while the girl glared holes into the soaked bodies. The centaur pulled out a chair from the side to a table.

"Care to sit?"

"No, I'm good," Tempest said quietly, taking a stand next to the previously stated table. The centaur nodded before letting go of the chair.

"Introductions, you may call me Chiron."

"Tempest," Tempest replied, narrowing his eyes behind the visor. Chiron nodded before continuing.

"If you don't mind, I'll be asking some questions." Tempest quickly clammed up before nodding stiffly.

"First thing's first; how did you pass the barrier?" Chiron face was unreadable, a cross between disbelief and concern.

"You mean the invisible wall outside?" Tempest asked, calming down after hearing that the question wasn't directed at him. Chiron nodded slowly.

"I...uh, made a temporary entrance to get in," Tempest admitted, putting a hand on his armoured neck piece.

"'Temporary'?" The centaur questioned.

"Yeah, the wall fixed itself." Tempest remained cautious, putting his arm down.

"Do you mind telling me how you opened an entrance?"

"...I have an item that lets me do so, but if I pull it out, I'm afraid I'll attract trouble." Tempest admitted, clenching and unclenching his right hand.

"No worries, that barrier keeps the monsters outside," Chiron said calmly, trotting around the room in a circle. He was trying to coax Tempest to pull the item out.

With a slight shrug, he raised his hand and ripped his Keyblade from its pocket dimension. Chiron didn't flinch, only studied it with expert eyes.

"I see." Suddenly, a single Shadow jumped up from the floorboards. Tempest pivoted on his left leg, spinning around and defeating the weak Heartless into a puff of black powder.

"I was afraid of that." Tempest huffed, "but I didn't think they'd react so fast…" he dispelled his blade.

"I did not think they would be able to enter." Chiron recovered, staring at the spot where the Heartless once stood, "a campus is no longer a safe place."

"If I stick around, I'll be able to keep them away. But I also attract them..." Tempest said, sighing.

' _Or I could leave again, but I currently don't feel like moving on. Maybe there are more pages here._ '

"If you do stay the campers will question how you got in, most mortals simply cannot pass through the barrier." Chiron seemingly ignored Tempest's last statement, only focusing on how he would be able to protect the campus.

"Mortal?"

"Ah, yes. You don't know about the gods, do you?"

"...which mythology are we talking about?"

"Greek."

"...you're going to tell me that they're real and that they'll be super offended if I, I dunno, flipped off the sky or something."

*thunder*

"I see you've already caught on." A shrug.

"I've seen things that are weirder. Next thing that I'll know is this whole camp is full of demigods."

"...You know a lot for a child of your age."

"I've been told that. Also been called a _demon_ and _orphan_." He spat out 'demon' and 'orphan' angrily.

"How so?" Tempest hesitated, debating on whether or not to trust the centaur.

"It's...what I look like." Any other question about his appearance was denied an answer.

After a short while of fruitless questioning, Tempest was given the third-floor guest room to sleep in, identityless for the time being.

He took off the helmet and look out at the moon through the window.

' _What I do for some kind of acceptance, be it good or bad._ ' he silently mused think about the deities in this new world, the centaur and the two people he dragged to the porch.

_|-w-|_

Tempest didn't sleep much, do to his 'jet lag' if you can even call it that now.

' _I'm fine. I never got much sleep anyways._ ' he convinced himself, clipping the helmet back on his head after putting on the boots and gauntlets. Then he just stared at the bed for a while before making his way downstairs, thinking about his past life.

The centaur was downstairs, making a cup of tea in the kitchen. He didn't seem to notice Tempest as he came down the stairs.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me why you were called a demon?" Chiron asked, turning around with his cup in hand. He was wearing a suit, like last night, with a striped tie and a plain dull brown blazer.

"Honestly?" Tempest said, automatically scooting over to the toaster and shoving a piece of bread in, "I don't trust you enough."

He got a nod from the centaur.

"I do hope you relax a little." Chiron admitted finishing his cup, "Now, if you don't mind, we will need a different reason on how you entered campus, I'm afraid your way is...too vague to convince the campers."

"...I was right to regret staying." Tempest muttered, waiting for the bread. Chiron raises his eyebrows but didn't say anything.

"For now we can say I gave you access into the grounds, but that will only hold for so long, the smarter campers will find out soon enough." Chiron suggested, "Another thing;" He pulled out a box from under the sink, kneeling on his front legs to get to it.

"I thought that your current weapon is too blunt for our older enemies," He slid the long box onto the table and took off the lid. A curved, single-edged bronze blade lay in a bedding of paper, a thick layer of dust covering the whole thing. How a bronze weapon could be so long, Tempest didn't know.

"Our campers cannot wield a blade like this one, so it was left in...storage."

' _Selective breeding? Or something else?_ ' Tempest though, pulling the box over to pick up the blade. The scabbard was revealed to be underneath it, a simple navy blue colouring with a steel throat and chape, the piece of metal covering the end of the scabbard. It already had a belt attached to it for carrying.

Tempest wiped off the dust on the blade and scabbard. Both looked like Japanese designs. How it ended up in a camp for _Greek_ demigods was beyond him.

"Thanks...I guess." Tempest said, sheathing the blue, braided handled blade with a hiss. He strapped it to his waist, clipping the belt buckle closed. Then the toast popped up, startling Tempest to the point he almost jumped. He quickly recovered, grabbing the hot toast and taking a bit out of it. By then, Chiron had trotted over to the front door and opened it, letting the morning rays shine through.

"I believe I should let you roam around campus, after all, you are the one dealing with the newer threat, no?" Chiron said, motioning for Tempest to leave the building. He did so, Chiron closing the door behind him.

"Here, a pamphlet. Something the campers thought of after a few of them got lost somehow." He passed Tempest said pamphlet, the map of the grounds on the back side. A 'U' shaped line of buildings with the names of Greek gods and goddess on each separate rectangle. A bonfire space, a large forest, an infirmary and a large rectangle for the training grounds. There were others of course, but Tempest didn't find them immediately interesting. The house Tempest was standing on was called the 'Big House'.

' _Bland_.'

"Humm, alright." Tempest pocketed the pamphlet and put the piece of toast into his mouth before twisting his gauntlet back onto his arm.

"I will be going now, as I have something to attend to." and Chiron trotted off, leaving Tempest to his thoughts.

' _Rundown; I'm in a world where gods exist, this whole camp is full of demigods that smell like Heartless food and there are more monsters that can't get in this safe haven… I'll just go with it…_ ' Tempest went through the events of last night, compiled all the information and basically had a little break down on the porch. Before he knew it, the toast was gone.

' _I'm good, I'm good...I AM NOT GOOD_.' Tempest stepped off the porch and watched campers come out of the cabins. By now Tempest's mind was screaming at him to move out of sight, out of the line of danger. Years of street crawling gave Tempest quite a few...quirks and quite a few knee-jerk reactions.

Tempest listened partially to what his subconscious said, moving off to the side as he watched the orange t-shirt campers go on with their day. Satyrs (his mind just couldn't stand the injustice of 'Goatman') were around too, running around doing who knows what.

One of the satyrs breaks off from the bunch, clopping over to where Tempest was standing. The satyr wore the typical orange ' _Camp Half-Blood_ ' t-shirt with no pants, exposing his brown furry goat legs and hooves.

"Hey!" The satyr said, waving at Tempest. He skidded to a stop right in front of Tempest, "You're the guy that saved Percy and me, right?"

"I don't know who you're talking about," Tempest replied, genuinely confused. He hadn't recognized the satyr.

"You know! The two guys you pulled up to the porch?"

"Oh, so Percy's the kid that took down the… here." Tempest took out the horn from his pants pocket. The black and white ridged horn was slightly stained in blood, the broken bottom jagged and sharp. The satyr took the horn gingerly, face falling as he remembered something. A moment of silence ensued.

"Oh, I'm such a horrible protector, the satyr mumbled, cradling the horn in his arms, brown eyes welling up with tears. Before he could legitimately start crying, he passed a business card to Tempest. "T-thanks, by the way."

And he left with the horn quickly afterwards.

The card named the satyr, Grover Underwood for the place where Tempest was now protecting from Heartless, Camp Half-Blood. He pocketed it in his outer pocket.

Tempest wandered around for a while, until noon. Campers gave him questioning looks as he neared them. All the Heartless that appeared were just weak Shadows and Mega Shadows that were quickly taken care of out of sight. Tempest still thought that Demigods smelled like Heartless food. And some of them smell worse than others.

When he paid the infirmary a visit he got a headache as his reward from the amount of salt and fish scent floating in the air. There was only one person in there, the raven-haired kid who was sleeping in a cot. He had a few cuts here and there and bruises, but overall he was fine. Maybe some head trauma, but fine.

The kid's eyes fluttered open for a second before closing again. His face was contorted as if something was bothering him in his dreams. Tempest casted a small scale Cure before left soon after, taking down a Shadow that appeared as soon as he opened the door.

.

.

.

He didn't go to the lunch...thing. Tempest ended up eating two granola bars. Not that he was mad or anything, just still cautious about people and big groups still freaked him out to be around.

He met the camp head just before dinner time, and he smelled like wine, plants and a musky smell. Tempest didn't talk to the grouchy man, staying away because of Mr. D being the core of all headaches. Tempest jokingly called him a god until Chiron confirmed it for him.

Chiron introduced the blonde girl to Tempest. The girl, Annabeth as she introduced herself, questioning the nature of Tempest's armour as it didn't look like most uncovered ancient civilization's designs.

"Er, alright…"

"What? You aren't going to confirm any of them?"

"I got this from the previous owner who didn't give me a lick of info on where it came from, how can I answer you!?"

The conversation continued on to age, as Tempest was taller than the twelve-year-old girl in front of him. Only slightly. But that didn't stop her from judging him.

' _I blame genetics_.' Tempest wearily thought, which is true, Armonians hit the growth spurt far sooner then humans, even if they eventually even out to be around the same height. Some friendly Armonian biology lessons.

Dinner was brought in by a concerned Chiron into the Big house's kitchen. It was nice of him and let Tempest eat in silence. A little trust was born that day, something Tempest only shared with Chris.

* * *

 **A/N: rEVIEWS HELP ME GROW. Oops, cap lock. But seriously, reviews are nice. Questions are too, and I'll gladly answer them unless it spoils something I have planned. So ask away!**

 **~Storm**


	5. Chapter 4: Awakening

**So I'm looking into some other worlds I could have Tempest visit (accidentally or not). And I decided on a none Disney world because being only Disney is too limiting to me as I haven't seen the more obscure ones. As for the world, I'll let it sit for a while. Hopefully, I can make it work without having to go through the content fifteen times... yes it's a movie. Yes, I think too far ahead into the future... This is going to be a problem? Right?**

 **~Storm**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or KH. They are owned by their respected owners. Tempest and any other non-canon character belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter 4

Awakening

Tempest had discovered something… inconvenient while he stayed awake last night. His armour, the very thing that protected him while he zipped through the void of space, was damaged. He wasn't sure if he could fix it or not, as the orichalcum used to make it was something that doesn't appear too often in outer worlds.

After all that stress over the few missing chest plates, sleep was almost nonexistent. Morning came too fast in his opinion.

Tempest had put on the gifted camp t-shirt as his black one was put in the wash. He still wore his red jacket and tan coloured cargo pants with parts of his armour underneath. His helmet was kept too, the newly acquired blade still on his belt.

Breakfast was toast, Chiron was gone early for something about a formal welcome so Tempest ate his toast outside, watching the sunrise on the huge porch of the Big House. He leaned on the railing, watching and listening to sounds. It was quieter then Twilight Town, something that Tempest never got to listen to except in the wasteland and there weren't any bird calls like this place.

The sun rose slowly, painting the sky purple, then yellow before into the blue sky most know. All remnants of last night's rain were gone, just some normal white clouds that speckled the sky.

Tempest must've zoned out at some point, as the chair on the other side of the pouch was suddenly occupied. By the raven-haired kid, no less, sitting in the chair with a small pillow behind his neck and a blanket draped over his legs.

' _Where'd he come from?_ ' Was the only logical thing to think of at that point. After a few moments, Tempest chalked it up to how tired he was and when back to staring out at the fields. The sun was now fully in the sky now, illuminating the meadow and strawberry patches just beyond the porch, sparkling with morning dew.

Sometime later Grover crossed the garden with a shoe box in under one arm and a glass of orange-yellow liquid with a parasol stuck through a cherry in his free hand. His hindquarters covered with pants and hooves hidden with shoes. He limped when he walked, slowly climbing up the stairs and looking exhausted like he hadn't slept at all last night.

"Oh, hey. I didn't think you would be here." Grover greeted, putting the drink on the table next to the kid. He kept the box to himself.

"I have a guest room in the building," Tempest said in an attempt to quell the satyr's confusion.

"What?" Grover asked, "but the unclaimed usually go to the Hermes cabin."

"You do know that I'm not a demigod, right?" Tempest cocked his head to one side. Grover paled at that thought.

"B-but mortals can't get in! The barrier keeps them out!" He stuttered, fumbling with the shoe box. Tempest regretted saying that.

"Chiron gave special permission." He said, hoping that was enough to convince Grover. It seemed to work, Grover relaxing a bit.

"O-oh, I see." He said, stumbling his words a little, "You know, I never got a name from you."

"Tempest." The satyr nodded. They lapsed into silence until the raven-haired kid woke up.

The boy turned his head wearily and attempted to pick up the glass of orange-yellow liquid, completely ignoring the other two figures standing on the porch. He reached over for the glass, arm shakily with exhaustion.

"Careful," Grover said, leaning on the railing. The kid looked at Tempest before giving Grover a puzzled look.

"Don't mind me," Tempest said quietly before going back to staring at the field.

"You saved my life." Grover said shakily, "Tempest was nice enough to return this." He put the shoebox onto the raven-haired kid's lap and opened it for him. The horn was revealed in all it's uncleaned glory, the blood still caked on the tip and the bottom still sharp and jagged.

The kid reacted negatively, green eyes growing wide with realization.

"The Minotaur." He said hoarsely like his throat was covered in a layer of sand.

"Um, Percy, it isn't a good idea-" Grover started before being cut off.

"That's what they called him in Greek myths, isn't it? The Minotaur. Half man, half bull." The kid, revealed to be named Percy, tried to raise his voice, only to choke a little at the end.

"You recovered a day earlier than expected. How much do you remember?"

"My mom. Is she really…?" Grover looked beat like it was his fault. He was the cause of Percy's mother's death.

Percy looked upon the meadow, a forlorn expression hanging on his face as he watched the clouds move and trees shake lightly in the wind. It was immediately apparent that Percy's mother meant a lot to the boy, her death no bolding well with him. Grover started sniffling, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm a failure. I-I'm the worst satyr in the world." Grover stomped his 'foot' a little too hard, the shoe slipping off of his hoof. What was left inside the shoe was a styrofoam mould of a foot with a hoof-shaped hole.

"Oh, Styx!" He muttered, thunder shaking the sky without a single storm cloud in the area. Grover hastily fumbled with his shoe while Percy was having another realization moment. Or lost deep in his mindscape, thinking about something.

"Keep blaming yourself for something couldn't prevent," Tempest said harshly, spitting out the words like they were acid. If they could see his face, they would see him scowling, navy blue eyes narrowed into slits.

"Weird armour man is right," Tempest flinched at the nickname Percy gave him, "It wasn't your fault."

"But…" Grover looked visibly hurt. A stranger was telling him to stop, "But I was supposed to protect you…"

"Did my mother ask you to protect me?" Percy asked skeptically.

"No. But that's my job. I'm a Keeper. At least... I was." Grover was now on the verge of tears.

"And my job is to be the orphan that I am." Tempest said quietly in hopes that no one would hear, "Keep blaming yourself. I promise nothing good will come of it."

"Yeah," Percy strained himself in attempt to get up, only to slump back into the chair.

"...Don't strain yourself." Grover said quietly, trying to move away from the previous conversation, "Here." He held up the glass of liquid to Percy's mouth. Percy slowly drank it up and just stared at the bottom of the glass, at the ice cubes that littered its base.

The sound of shuffling cards reminded him of something.

Tempest quietly excused himself, walking over the other side of the porch where Mr. D and Chiron were playing a card game.

"Ah, Tempest." Chiron looked his way as he slew a Shadow that just popped up. He was in a wheelchair for some reason. Tempest has a sneaking suspicion that magic is involved, "I hope all is well with you."

"If you call waking up at two in the morning to deal with screaming campers 'good', then yes, I'm fine." Tempest huffed, looking at the table of Pinochle they were playing. How he knew it was Pinochle, well, let's say he'd seen the two play the game quite a lot and even tried to get him to learn it.

"That is why I want to leave this blasted camp, Tyler." Mr. D grumbled, putting down a few cards. Tempest ignored the mispronunciation of his name and fiddled with his armour pieces. He didn't even notice when Annabeth came over and leaned on the porch railing, observing the game.

Tempest ended up sitting on the wooden floorboards, looking out at the campers running around doing their own things. He had noted that most Heartless appear around night time, meaning it'll be a pain to watch over the cabins to keep the little beasts away.

Tempest tensed up a little when Grover and Percy came into the scene, and Grover started whispering. When he found out it was just an introduction, Tempest relaxed a little and returned to his gazing.

"Mr. Brunner!" Tempest then jumped, rattling the floorboards.

"Ah, good, Percy," Chiron answered, ignoring Tempest's little stunt, "Now we have four for Pinochle." He pulled out a chair for Percy, which the boy took hesitantly. It seemed that he was unnerved by the way Mr. D looked, with his bloodshot eyes and grouchy demeanour.

"Oh," The pudgy man sighed, "I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Don't expect me to be glad to see you." Percy shifted away from Mr. D, obviously uncomfortable with the man.

"Uh, thanks."

"Annabeth? Tempest?" The girl got off the railing and went over to Chiron's side. Tempest followed suit, though he stood a little farther away from the crowd.

"Tempest here brought you out of the thunderstorm and has volunteered to help keep this camp safe. A brave young man." Chiron said, motioning for Tempest to come a bit closer. If Percy was expecting him to say anything, then he was disappointed as all he did was grunt a quiet greeting.

"This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy." Chiron introduced Annabeth to Percy, "Annabeth, my dear, why don't you check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."

' _Cabin Eleven is the Hermes Cabin_ ,' Tempest remembered, the pamphlet he was given detailed such thing like that.

"Sure, Chiron," Annabeth answered before turning to address Percy.

"You drool when your sleep." She said, and bolted onto the lawn and away.

"Tempest," Chiron looked at him, "I believe you have other duties to attend to."

"Alright," Tempest said, not questioning how abrupt that dismissal was. After all, everyone has reasons for every action they make. So he was back on the hunt for invading Heartless and on the lookout for those old, yellowed pages of Chris' journal.

_|-w-|_

Things mellowed out over the course of five days. The Heartless started miraculously to thin out, Tempest's suspicion rising with every day. The excitement over Friday seemed to increase with the passing of time.

Then Friday came, and Tempest learned why they were so excited.

"Capture the flag…" he said skeptically to Chiron after the centaur explained the activity, "With real bronze weaponry and armour."

"Celestial bronze, if you were being exact." The centaur said arm crossed behind his back. They were standing in the middle of the camp, watching the campers go along their daily lessons and tasks.

"Is that even ok?" Tempest exclaimed, staring incredulously at Chiron.

"It is perfectly safe." Chiron said simply, "There is a no maiming rule in place, and you did say that the Heartless have started appearing less."

"I guess Cabin seven takes care of cuts, yes?" Tempest questioned. The centaur nodded.

"Oh, look at the time. Seems like dinner was sooner then I thought." He quirked a brow, "Care to join us?"

"Uh." Tempest suddenly looked nervous, "N-no, I'll just stay...out of it."

"Very well then," And Chiron left.

' _I'm never going to get over my fear of crowds, am I?_ ' Tempest mused before opening the book that Luke, the Cabin eleven head, gifted him. It seemed like people were always giving him things nowadays, this book about modern Greek gods and related items being one of them.

Tempest climbed a post and got onto the roof of the pavilion, the campers giving odd looks to the armoured Armonian as they passed. He was pretty grateful no one really tried to call him down or call him out over this little thing. He watched as the campers gathered under the dome structure, their particular scents mixing together just to disperse into nothing.

When Percy entered the scene, the overpowering scent of wet salt or sea spray almost knocked Tempest off the roof. Chiron had leaned over and saw this little tick in Tempest's movement and had called him down.

"Something the matter?" He asked as soon as Tempest dropped down from the roof.

"Ah…well," Tempest hesitated, putting a hand on the back of his neck, "All the demigods smell weird…" Chiron seemed to freeze up.

"What do they smell like then?" The old centaur asked cautiously, leaning on the table, voice dropping down to a whisper.

"It depends," Tempest said, averting his gaze.

"Depends?" Chiron seemed bewildered now, completely shocked as if he had never seen anything like this in his long life.

"Yes…?" Tempest was now worried.

' _I regret a lot of things, but this one more._ '

Suddenly, dinner was over and Chiron was called away to prepare for Capture the Flag.

"We will continue this later, alright?" and the centaur galloped away.

Tempest turned his focus to the suddenly loud tables, two flags were raised. One was blood red with a spear and a boar's head painted onto it. The other was silvery grey, an owl sitting upon an olive tree adorned it's waving fabric. The campers separated, uneven halves split between the banners.

Chiron stamped his front hoof on the marble flooring.

"Heroes! You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed."

' _Magic items?_ '

"The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" And he waved and the empty tables were suddenly covered in weaponry and armour.

Chiron approached Tempest,

"Keep an eye on Percy." and left without another word.

' _O…'kay?_ ' Tempest thought, trailing behind the masses of armoured campers as they ran into the forest to set up their bases. All he did was follow the wet salt smell, a scent special to Percy, into the Athena cabin group's base.

As soon as there were trees to climb and tall enough to hid in, he jumped onto one and started hopping trees. Some demigods noticed but quickly dismissed his presence as just protecting them from the ant creatures lurking around most corners. Of course, that wasn't totally true anymore as Tempest had discovered that the tree responsible for the barrier had evolved, now blocking most of the Heartless out too. He was certain that tomorrow all the Heartless would be blocked out, and Tempest would finally have time to look for the keyhole and pages.

He followed the boy to the creek, crouching on the thick branch of the tree. He was clumsily hefting his caduceus emblazoned shield around, the sword in his hand constantly being shifted as if it was front heavy.

Something caught Percy's attention, as he slowly turned toward the bushes. The smell of blood and gore filled the air, whatever that held Percy's attention seemingly have left.

The bush farther away from Tempest exploded, five Ares children bursting from the thick foliage.

"Cream the punk!" the leader shouted, spear in hand. Tempest watched to see how this would play out, seeing whatever the kid did was pretty bad.

The five, red-plumed, infuriated warriors charged through the creek and Percy is in the middle of a mental dilemma. Fight or flight.

' _Not the best time…_ '

One of the Ares kid strikes at Percy, only for him to dodge the slash. The rest of the Ares group surround the boy, their leader taking a stab at Percy for him to block it. The faint scent of charred wood and static reaches Tempest.

They continue to beat the boy, be it verbal or bloodless physical violence. Then one of the campers crossed the line, using their bronze blade to cut a gash on Percy's arm.

With a few mocking words, they kick him into the water, and the salt smell grew exponentially stronger.

A shimmering form of pulsing magic caught Tempest's attention, the thing like a sheet covering a human silhouette.

' _Who are you now…?_ ' he turned back to the Ares, Percy fight, only to find that the tide of battle turned. Percy was beating the demigods of Ares in the creek. The crimson flag of the red team was being carried over the quiet creek by Luke, running like all hell was gaining on him. More cabin eleven warriors flank him, acting as his personal guard.

"A trick!" The girl, who was the leader of the ambush on Percy, shouted, "It was a trick!" And feebly tried to reach Luke, only for the steadfast demigod to cross the creek, the banner in his hands to change silver with a caduceus replacing the boar head.

Tempest dropped down from the tree upon hearing the horn, into the creek startling Percy and whoever was cloaked.

"Woah!" Percy exclaimed, backing up in surprise, "Where'd you come from!?"

"You can take that spell off now," Tempest said bluntly, ignoring Percy and turning to the shimmering silhouette.

"How?" Annabeth said, looking as if she just took her NY cap off, "No one should have seen me!"

"It's really hard to miss something that emitted more magic than a monster on Mana steroids," Tempest remarked before realizing something.

' _I never had this ability before,_ ' he thought, putting a hand on his chin, ' _is this world-changing me more then I thought?_ '

"Were you two hiding while I was getting beat by those five!?" Percy exclaimed, looking a little more then annoyed and jabbing a finger at Tempest then Annabeth, "You set me up." Percy was getting himself rolled up now, "You knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank You had it all fingered out."

"I told you, Athena always, always has a plan," Annabeth said, shrugging.

"A plan to get me pulverized," Percy growled out.

"Am I the only one slightly worried about that cut?" Tempest cut in bluntly. He wadded over to Percy and put a gantlet on the boy's arm only to find the cut closed, the scar fading away right before his eyes.

"I see…" Tempest said, voice almost a whisper and Annabeth stared on with disbelief.

"I-I don't get it…" Percy's anger had been replaced by confusion.

"Alright, salt breath," Tempest said, only to be cut off by Annabeth who continued his own thought.

"Step out of the water."

"Wha-" Without any warning, Tempest dragged him out of the creek, only for Percy to go slack against the grip.

"Big Three?" Tempest asked, side-eyeing the Athena girl.

"Yes, big three," Annabeth confirmed, her expression turned guarded.

A sudden howl pierced the air, to Tempest it sounded like a broken organ crying out through wolf lungs.

Chiron shouted something in ancient Greek, Annabeth unsheathed her sword and Tempest went on guard, ready for anything.

What looked like a fusion of a Heartless and a native direwolf jumped up from the foliage, yellow, lifeless eyes and slick, deep purple fur a blur in its movement. Tempest instinctively summoned his Keyblade, the sky blue 'eyes' of the serpent head glinting in the moonlight. The beast struck Percy before anyone could react, carving deep cuts into the boy's torso in quick succession.

Before more damage could be done, Tempest leaps into action and mounted the beast. Grabbing onto the ears of the beast, he braved the bucking and held on.

Just as it tired just a bit, Tempest stood up and put a foot on the dire wolf's snout and pried its maw open. Black saliva oozes out of the orifice, and Tempest used the same strategy as with the bull Heartless; he shoved his Keyblade in the maw.

"Fire!" and started to burn the thing from the inside out. After a few more fire spells, it ran into a tree and slumped over. The purple peeled off the fur and the yellow faded from the eyes, the mass of darkness turning into a Possessor. Tempest easily destroyed the weak Heartless.

The pure black body of the possessed wolf thrashed before three arrow shafts sprouted from its neck area, the body flopping down a second time.

" _Di immortales!_ " Annabeth moved to Chiron's side, "That was a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment! They don't… they're not supposed to… why was it…?"

"It was summoned," Chiron said grimly, "From inside the camp."

"It was Percy! Percy-" Clarisse was cut off by Tempest,

"I was following him, and I saw what you did," Tempest said coldly, bending down to where the hellhound once laid dead. A fist-sized rock of greenish, grey metal sat there, and Tempest recognized it as the orichalcum he needed. Picking it up, Tempest made his way to an injured Percy.

"I honestly regret using most of my mana, but you have to get into the water, salt breath." Annabeth came over too.

"Tempest is right," She said, narrowing her eyes at said Armonian before turning to address Chiron, "Chiron, watch this." Before Percy could retaliate, Tempest pushed him into the water. He instantly looked better, the cuts closing automatically. He got up and looked at the shocked faces of the surrounding campers.

"Look, I-I don't know why," In the middle of his sentence, a turquoise, transparent trident appeared above his head, floating in midair. Tempest chose to stay silent this time, a nagging voice inside his head telling him to shut up and let this run its course.

"I'm sorry…"

"Percy.." Annabeth pointed at the trident, "Um…"

Percy looked up, and back at the campers surrounding him.

"Your father," Annabeth muttered, quite loud in the quiet forest, "This is _really_ not good."

"It is determined," Chiron announced, shattering the silence. Tempest moved back into the shadows as the campers bowed before Percy.

"My father?"

"Poseidon," Chiron confirmed, voice booming as he recited the many titles of the sea god, "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

In the shadows, if one had looked, they would swear that Tempest's eyes glinted green for a split second from behind the dark visor he wore.

* * *

 **A/N: Hahahahahahaha... kill me. I'm going to go back and see the horrible characterization and inwardly cringe at how bad I think it is...**

 **~Storm**


	6. Chapter 5: A Tied Fate

**A/N: A little more story from the diary. Not much. The backlog is getting shorter as I have been stuck in... Card game hell as of late. I'll still try and put out chapters, but it might not always work out. And I'm still working on the title page, which is getting delayed because of my terrible work habits. It will get done...one day.**

 **~Storm**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or KH. My characters, however, are mine.**

* * *

Chapter 5

A Tied Fate

 _It was storming. A raven was following a boy as he watched two men fight. Every attack that connected, the weather seemed to darken, almost ripping the raven from its tree perch._

' _Stop it!' the boy was yelling, slowly approaching the two fighting men. Then the earth shook, a ravine forming in its wake. It swallowed up the boy, a voice like knives laughing from inside chasm as the dream faded to nothing._

_|-w-|_

 **Entry#4**

I hate my luck. My bloody frickin' luck.

(A black splotch of what first appears to be ink covers most of the pages. Odd.)

 **Entry #5**

I got a leather gauntlet from a moogle, a little overpriced if you ask me. Eraqus gave us a break today. Saki went back to enchanting this, Kage to his smithing room. The three of us still haven't forgotten about our island, the darkness that swallowed it and the probability that it will return, which is none at all. I guess I'll go back to my piano, that's a better distraction then this.

 **Entry #6**

Xehanort, Eraqus' old trainee partner, came to visit today and may have noticed my condition. That or those gold eyes of his had seen potential. Finally, someone who recognizes my greatness! I wonder why Eraqus is so tense around him though.

 **Entry #7**

I guess he really did see potential. Or just a nice way to take weight off of Eraqus' shoulders. I'll be travelling with him as of tomorrow, but I don't think he talked to Eraqus about this arrangement… that worries me a bit, after all, he did look out for us. If I do go, Kage and Saki will worry… Whatever.

 **Saki's Letters #1**

Tempest frowned. The ink is smudged beyond recognition. Like someone was crying while reading or writing it. It's kinda depressing.

It's been a few days since the incident with the Possessor and the hellhound. Percy was moved to cabin three, Annabeth won't shut up about the Keyblade and whatever quest. The Heartless were taken care of, the tree had evolved to block them out too, negating any reason to prolong Tempest's stay.

He puts all the pages in their rightful places inside the leather diary, the envelope with the other one in the sleeve.

He was sitting on the bed, the pages were found neatly placed on the ground beside the bed frame.

' _I wonder who put this here…_ ' Tempest thought, closing the diary and putting it away.

He descended down the stairs and exited the building, finding the centaur and satyr standing around a table as if they were waiting for someone. Annabeth was there too, only her cap was on. Tempest only glanced at the shimmering form for a split second before Chiron grabbed his attention.

"Ah, Tempest," He greeted, "You've come a bit late."

"...I've been thinking," Was all Tempest answered with.

"Oh, about what?"

"...Well," Tempest started, "Since the Heartless are no longer a threat… I was thinking of moving on."

Chiron nodded.

"Well, if you don't mind, I would like you to stay a little longer. Something tells me that Percy's quest will pique your interest."

Tempest cocked a brow from under his helmet.

"...Sure," And Percy came out of the Big House door.

"Well?" Chiron asked, watching as Percy slumped into a chair dejectedly.

"She said I would retrieve what was stolen," The boy said.

"That's great!" Grover was eating a coke can, weirding Tempest out a little.

' _Goats are still goats_.'

"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron was pressing for more information.

"She…" Percy winced, "She said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would receive what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it," Grover was really excited now.

"Anything else?" Chiron looked skeptical. Percy looked conflicted like he was hiding something. Tempest had dealt with enough falsified crimes from civilians to know about a lying face.

"No, That's about it."

"Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass." It looked like Chiron had noticed Percy's hesitation.

"Okay," Percy looked nervous as he said that, "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"

"Ah, think Percy. If Zeus and Poseidon weakened each other in a was, who stands to gain?"

"Somebody else who wants to take over?"

"Yes, quite. Someone who harbours a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."

"...Hades."

"The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."

"Woah, wait. Wh-what?" Grover cut into the conversation.

"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded Grover of something, "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one Lord: Hades."

"Yes, but-but Hades hates _all_ heroes. Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon…."

"A Hellhound got into the forest. Those can only be summoned from the fields of punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take the quest."

"Great," Percy looked even more dejected, "That's two major gods who want to kill me."

"But a quest to…" Grover shivered, "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt. He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."

The room went quiet as they looked at Percy, waiting for him to say something.

"Look, if we know it's Hades," Percy finally said, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some head."

"Suspecting and knowing are not the same. Besides even if the other gods suspect Hades-and I imagine Poseidon does-they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rile. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

"You're saying I'm being used."

"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."

"...You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"

"I had my suspicions, Tempest here confirming some. As I said...I've spoken to the Oracle, too."

"So let me get this straight. I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."

"Check."

"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"Check." ' _In your_ world _, salt breath. Even if you don't know how small this place is_.'

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."

"That's about right." Grover was eating the cards now, probably out of stress.

"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" He offered weakly.

"You don't have to go," Percy said, trying to comfort the satyr, "I can't ask that of you."

"Oh…" Grover looked around nervously, "No... it's just that satyrs and underground places...well…" He dusted the pieces of leftover cards and aluminum shreds off his shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If… if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."

Percy looked relieved now. Tempest was more then intrigued about his quest, a part of him worried if they took the Heartless into account.

"All the way, G-man." Percy turned to address Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to ages, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."

' _I now really need a map of this world…_ '

"Where?"

"I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."

"Oh. Naturally. So we just get a plane-"

' _Sometimes, I question really how smart you are…_ '

"No!"Grover jumped, shouting the word, "Percy, what are you thinking!? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"

"Percy, think," Chiron said calmly, "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus' domain. You would never come down again alive."

The lighting and thunder seemed to confirm that fact.

"Okay. So, I'll travel overland."

"That's right," Chiron leaned back into his wheelchair. "Two, or three depending on their willingness to follow, will accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered."

"Gee, Who else then Armour face would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

Annabeth chose then to make an entrance, taking her hat off.

"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," Annabeth spat, "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"Chiron," Tempest said quietly.

"Yes?" The old centaur looked at the armoured figure.

"Have you thought about the Heartless beyond the barrier?"

"I was hoping you would join their trio. I'm not breaking any rules if a mortal joins, yes?" Tempest mentally facepalmed.

' _Of course. This is his solution…_ '

"Alright… I surrender, I'll go." He said a little too loudly.

"Okay, A quartet," Percy amended his previous statement of a trio. Annabeth looked skeptical as if this wasn't going to work.

"Excellent," Chiron smiled, "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

Thunder crackled and poured from the sky, pelting the meadows with harsh rain.

"No time to waste," Chiron said sternly, "I think you should all get packing."

Grover, Percy and Annabeth ran into the rain to pick up their things, leaving Tempest alone with Chiron.

"What made you change your mind about leaving?" The wheelchair-bound centaur asked.

"I am still leaving," Tempest said, "I'm just leaving with others." and he turned to go back into the Big House to grab some food.

_|-w-|_

Tempest put a hand on the single-edged blade sheathed at his side. Chiron had given him a few supplies; a bag, some granola bars, a cheap flashlight, and monster handbook. He had changed out of the camp t-shirt, leaving the shirt in the bag.

Percy had the least amount of things, only bringing a bag of toiletries and a change of clothes. The boy was loaned a hundred dollars and twenty huge gold coins. Drachmas.

Annabeth brought her cap, a book on classical architecture, and a knife that Tempest personally found distracting. The pulsing was pretty annoying.

Grover was dressed to deceive people into thinking he was human. A cap over his head and with his fake feet on, it was pretty convincing. That is if people could smell the goat. He apparently brought some tin cans in his bag too.

They approached the pine tree, the one creating the barrier, with Chiron waiting on top with the head of security with him.

"This is Argus. He will drive you into the city, and, er, keep an eye on things."

' _The city… people… frick me. I should have thought this through_ …' the sound of footsteps running up the hill snapped Tempest out of his regret.

Luke was running up the hill, holding a pair of shoes in his hand.

"Hey! Glad I caught you." Tempest turned to face the scared boy. "Just wanted to say good luck. And I thought...um, maybe you could use these." He handed the shoes to Percy, who took a whiff.

" _Maia_ ," And the shoes sprouted white wings out of the heels which startled Percy so much, he dropped it. It fell to the ground where it flopped around before the wings disappeared entirely.

"Awesome!" Grover was oddly excited about the shoes.

"Alright…" Tempest eyed the shoes. He didn't really like them, he had his glider and that was enough.

"Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from dad." Luke explained, "Of curse, I don't use them much these days." his expression fell.

"Hey, man," Percy said, "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy…" Luke now looked uncomfortable, "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just… kill some monsters for me, okay?"

The two shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head like a pet before giving Annabeth a hug. She started hyperventilating.

"Chill," Tempest said to Annabeth.

"You're hyperventilating," Percy said bluntly.

"What he said," Tempest thumbed Percy as he said that.

"Am not,"

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

"Oh...why-"

"Nope," Tempest shut both of them up, "I'm not going to be this nice next time around."

Annabeth growled and stormed off the hill towards the SUV waiting for them. Tempest followed the girl, lingering behind her.

Tempest waited outside the car, staying there until Percy came down the hill. He got in the car after him, sitting in the middle row, placing the blade on his lap and looked out at the fields and rain as they flew past. No matter how calming the view, Tempest will never like cars.

.

.

.

Ten miles in, and Tempest had a massive headache. It started from a pressure in his ears before spreading to his brain. It was so bad that he had debated taking off his helmet.

"So far so good," Percy said. Tempest didn't feel like turning to see who he was talking to. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

"It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain," Annabeth returned, a growl in her voice.

"Remind me again- why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me."

"Look… we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Parentage my ass," Tempest mumbled incoherently.

"Why?"

"How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is _hugely_ disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. You dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."

"They must really like olives."

"Oh, forget it."

"Now, if she'd invented pizza- _that_ I could understand."

"I said forget it!"

"I regret this so much right now…" Tempest moaned.

Soon after, Argus dropped them off at the station, put the bags down and gave them their tickets. He drove away right after.

Percy looked longingly at the apartment buildings while Tempest leaned on the wall. Percy looked… sad as if he was missing something. Grover approached him.

"What was that stunt you pulled with the hellhound," Annabeth asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"Stunt?" Tempest lifted his head just a bit, "Oh, that. My...teacher... had a thing for acrobatics."

"No, the blade," She was slightly growling now.

"The blade?" She nodded hastily. "Just another weapon I use." Tempest shrugged. A moment of silence.

"I don't know where you came from, but I do know that you're not human. No one can grapple onto a hellhound and _live_." Annabeth said pointedly.

"Hahaha," Tempest forced a strained laugh, "I've been called worse." Annabeth left with a huff, leaving Tempest alone with his migraine.

.

.

.

The bus came later then Tempest would've liked. Too much time for their enemies to catch up. He sat down but made a point in keeping his bag, setting it down on the ground. When an old lady boarded, Tempest froze up and alerted the others with that very movement.

Percy shivered in seeing the lady, Annabeth's and Grover's faces showing a mix of fear and dread.

"She didn't stay dead long," Percy whispered to Annabeth, "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

"I said if you're _lucky_ ," Annabeth hissed back, "You're obviously not."

"All three of them. _Di Immortales!_ " Grover was spooked.

"It's okay," Annabeth reassured the group, but to Tempest, it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the window."

"They don't open," Tempest said quietly, fighting off the newly growing migraine.

"A back exit?"

"Nope."

"They won't attack us with witnesses around… will they?" Percy asked.

"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth explained. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"

"From what I understand, we can't rely on mortals to fend off a supernature beast," Tempest interjected.

"Maybe an emergency exit on the roof...?"

The bus hit a tunnel, the interior going dark. For Tempest, it took on a slightly green tinge.

"I need to use the restroom!" One of the brimstone smelling ladies announced, getting up.

"So do I," another one.

"So do I," and the last.

They all started coming down the aisle, closing in on their row.

"I've got it," Annabeth said, taking out her hat. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?"

"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them bass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."

"But you guy-"

"There's an outside chance they might not notice us, especially Tempest," She glared at him. "You're the son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you."

"Don't worry about us," Grover chided, "Go!"

Percy hesitantly took the hat and put it on, turning into a shimmering form that left his seat and shuffled down the aisle. Tempest put a hand on his blade. The ladies approached and quickly transformed into bat-winged, hags with claws on their fingers. They were cracking their flaming whips now.

"Where is it?! Where?!" The bus exploded into pandemonium, screaming people everywhere.

"He's not here! He's gone!" Annabeth tried to dissuade them from attacking. Instead, they raised their whips and prepared to strike.

Tempest pulled his blade from its sheath partway, Annabeth drew her bronze knife and Grover took out a can.

Then the bus itself tilted.

' _Damnit, salt breath!_ ' Tempest cursed, grabbing hold on the seat with his free hand. The Furies were catapulted into the far window, then into the floor. It went on like that for quite a while, Tempest grabbing the seat for his dear life as the bus lurched every which way.

Then it stopped, and everyone went flying forward. The sound of crashing trees and screeching steel notified him of what had happened. They had crashed.

The door flew open and everyone tried to leave all the same time. Tempest fully unsheathed the blade and blocked a flaming whip as it came down at his head. Annabeth was shouting in greek and Grover was tossing tin cans at the Furies.

"Hey!"

"Idiot move, Jackson!" Was Tempest's first order of business. He was promptly ignored. The Furies stopped attacking, turning their attention to Percy.

"Perseus Jackson," the front Fury said, voice carrying an undertone of malice, "You have offended the gods. You shall die."

"I like you better as a math teacher!" Percy shot back. Tempest slowly moved behind the other Furies, waiting for a moment to strike.

Percy took out a ballpoint pen and uncapped it, transforming it into a full-length bronze sword. The Furies halted in their advance, their leader obviously has a history with the blade.

"Submit now and you will not suffer eternal torment," One of them hissed, looking more pissed them before.

"Nice try," Percy returned.

"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried just as a whip end curled around Percy's sword hand.

Tempest when in and swiftly severed a hand, the whip and claw falling onto the ground in a bloody heap before turning into dust.

The Furies screamed as Tempest followed up with an impaled chest, the blade sinking into the rib cage like a hot knife through butter.

"Ow," Grover dropped the whip he had ripped from a Fury's hand, "Ow! Hot! Hot!"

"Zeus will destroy you!" The leader howled. "Hades will have your soul!"

" _Braccas meas vescimini!_ " Percy shouted back. Then thunder shook the bus.

"Get out! Now!" the four tumbled out of the bus before lightning could strike it. The passengers were still outside the bus, screaming, taking photos or had fainted.

"Our bags!" Grover turned to the bus, "We left our-" And was cut off by the strike, the carcass of the vehicle going up in flames. Dark shadows lingered just out of sight in the woods, the angry screech on the inside of the melting bus signalling doom.

"Heartless!" Tempest shouted watching the dancing yellow eyes within the trees that were slowly approaching. Without another word, the four of them ran into the woods, leaving the smouldering wreak behind.

' _Well, that went from zero to a hundred really fast_.' Tempest mused.


	7. Chapter 6: An Uncertain Future

**A/N: 4.5K words... that's a lot of words... Anyways, I've been thinking about giving each of my OCs theme songs. So I'm going to give them to you guys. Who knows, there might be some hints on their personalities and histories...**

 **Tempest: _This is Me_ sang by _Keala Settle_**

 **Spectral Christopher: _Silhouette_ by _Owl City_**

 **Christopher: _Beautiful Times_ by _Owl City_ and _Linsey Stirling_**

 **Saki: _Devil's Backbone_ by _The Civil Wars_**

 **Kage: _Kids Again_ by _Artist Vs Poet_**

 **? & ? & ? Time: after the fall: _Good For You_ By the _Dear Evan Hansen Cast_ (You aren't meant to know who these three are)**

 **I had fun with this little side project. A little different, but fun nonetheless. Maybe some of you readers will recognize some of these songs too, and maybe someone will take a take a slightly deeper look into these.**

 **~Storm**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or KH. They belong to their respective owners. All I do own are my OCs.**

* * *

Chapter 6

An Uncertain Future

Tempest found the next piece of orichalcum on the river bank while Annabeth was still present. She eyed the metal skeptically before moving on.

He had thought about using his glider, but that idea was extinguished when he remembered he couldn't carry three people at once.

"Three Kindly Ones. All three at once..." Grover was shivering, "How are you so calm about it?"

"I've seen murder on the streets in plain sight," Tempest told him grimly, "It's going to take a lot more than just an explosion to rattle me."

"What about the Kindly Ones?"

"...They…" Tempest hesitated before averting his gaze, "I didn't like them…" Grover nodded before going back to shivering.

"Come on! The farther away we get, the better."

"All our money was back there," Percy said, "Our food and clothes. Everything."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight-" Tempest paused, glaring at the yellow dots in the distance.

"I'll be right back," And left the group to their argument, chasing after the Heartless.

He got the jump on it, summoning his Keyblade and smacked it around before it dissipated. It dropped a potion, the little green star in the bottle twinkling. Tempest packed it before hurrying back, following the salt smell.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Percy asked as soon as Tempest appeared from the woods.

"Nowhere," Tempest lied. He accepted it and the four returned to walking.

.

.

.

Tempest was no stranger to hunger, but when the smell of deep-fried food hit his nose, he couldn't stop his mouth from watering. Percy seemed to silently agree.

The smell came from a weird little warehouse-like place with a neon sign shine over it.

"What the heck does that say?" Percy asked, unable to read the sign.

"I don't know,"

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium." Tempest told them, approaching the fence entrance. It was flanked by to gnome statues, smiling with their arm in the air as if they were waving. There was the smell of reptiles in the air along with the deep-fried food smell.

"Hey…" Grover seemed to catch on.

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth looked hungry too, "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.

"Snack bar," Annabeth agreed.

"This is a trap," Tempest said, no matter how much his stomach cried out.

"I have to agree with Tempest," Grover said, "This place is weird."

The two of them ignored Tempest and Grover and continued into the building.

"We better go in to," Tempest said to Grover, "Or they might just end up like those Gnomes…"

"Mmm…" the other two followed them in, walking past more statues of animals, people, and a satyr.

" _Bla-ha-ha!_ " Grover beated, "Looks my uncle Ferdinand!" They stopped at the warehouse door, the lights on inside and the smell of food continuing to pour out.

"Don't knock," Grover pleaded, "I smell monsters."

"All I smell are reptiles," Tempest said, "and food."

"Not helping!" Grover whimpered.

"Both of your nostrils are plugged up from the Furies," Annabeth retorted, "All I small is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat! I'm a vegetarian!" Grover huffed scornfully.

"I know when to cut my costs, this is one of them," Tempest said.

"You never seem to eat, Armour face. Grover, you eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy said.

"I resent that," Tempest spat.

"Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are… looking at me."

Before anyone could say more, the steel door creaked open with a tall woman wearing black everywhere stood in the doorway. She stank of reptiles, setting Tempest off the edge more with this person.

"Children," She spoke with a light accent, "it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents."

"They're...um…" Annabeth tried feebly to come up with an answer,

"Orphans," Tempest said calmly as he had when he tried to explain to the officers so long ago.

"Orphans?" She used the word as if she had never heard of it, "But, my dears, surely not!"

"We didn't have anywhere to go, so we came here in hopes of direction." Tempest explained, shrugging a shoulder, "Sorry to bother you."

"Is there food in there?" Percy piped up, looking hopeful.

"Oh, my dears. You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse. There is a dining area."

"Thank you." They entered.

"Orphans? Seriously?" Annabeth hissed to Tempest.

"I am one," He grimly told her, cutting the conversation short.

The warehouse had more statues of people or monsters. It was quite odd, all of them smiling as if they were going to get a picture taken. Even the beasts were sitting down obediently.

They made it to the back where a fast food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater and a nacho cheese dispenser.

"Please, sit down," Em said.

"Awesome," Percy took a seat, too delirious with hunger to notice anything else. Tempest chose to stand while the other two took a seat.

"Um, we don't have any money ma'am," Grover said, almost whimpered.

"No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."

"Thank you, ma'am." The lady stiffened at the thanks before relaxing.

"Quite all right, Annabeth," She said, ticking Tempest off even more, "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." And she left to start preparing the food.

Tempest sighed and waited. He didn't know what the hell Percy had gotten them into, but he was flying by the seat of his pants now.

Their hostess came out with trays of cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes and really big servings of French fries.

Percy was scarfing down his burger like it was the end of the world. Tempest took a serving of french fries and ate it sparingly. Grover ate basically nothing, only picking at the fries and eyeing the wax paper.

"What's that hissing noise?" Grover suddenly asked.

"Hissing?" Em echoed, "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."

"I take vitamins. For my ears."

"That's admirable. But please, relax." And she continued to watch them eat, with unsettled Tempest, just like everything else in the warehouse. Then Percy thought he could make some conversation.

"So, you sell gnomes,"

"Oh, yes. And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."

"A lot of business on this road?

"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built… most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."

Percy turned and looked at the statue of a girl holding a woven basket. The face was scrunched up, either in fear or surprise.

"Ah. You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."

"You make these statues yourself?"

"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my only company."

Annabeth stopped and leaned forward,

"Two sisters?"

"It's a terrible story. Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a...a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually, they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived but at a price. Such a price."

"Percy?" Annabeth shock the boy to grab his attention, "Maybe we should go. I mean, we can go find some civilization on the way forward."

"Yeah, we have already taken a lot of her time," Tempest added, ignoring the fact that Grover was eating the wax paper out of nervousness.

"Such beautiful gray eyes," Em purred, "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."

' _A real demented cat_.' Em reached out to do something like stroke Annabeth's cheek before the girl stood up.

"We really should go."

"Right! Civilization awaits!" Grover said, taking the shreds of wax paper off his face. Percy looked reluctant as if the warehouse itself had hypnotized him.

"Please dears," The reptile smelling lady pleaded, "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit down for a pose?"

"A pose?" Tempest asked warily, finishing his fries. Annabeth looked hesitant.

"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."

"I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy-"

"Sure we can," Percy integrated, looking a little pissed.

"Percy…" Tempest said warningly.

"It's just a photo, Tempest. What's the harm?"

"Yes, Tempest," the lady purred, "No harm."

Tempest and Annabeth reluctantly allowed Percy to go with this, skeptical about the photo business but they followed Em to the front door and into the yard of statues.

The hissing grew louder as Em grew more excited, creeping Tempest out as he stood off the side. The fact that she had no camera scared him more.

"Tempest, could you put that blade on the ground? It does not bold well with my style." He put the blade at arm's reach, unclip it and placing it in a bird bowl.

"Now, I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, the two young man on either side and the armoured one in the back."

"Not much light for a photo," Percy remarked.

"Oh, enough. Enough for us to see each other, yes?" Tempest gritted his teeth under his helmet. There was little keeping him from ripping the lady's throat out, the darkness around the area so thick that is was clouding his judgement.

"Where's the camera?" Grover asked. Em took a step back.

"Now, the face is most difficult. Can you smile for me, please? Everyone? A large smile?"

Grover looked around, getting attached to the satyr statue. "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."

"Grover." Em chastised, "Look this way, dear."

She had no camera in her hands. Tempest was going to break out into a sweat from the stress.

"Percy-" He seemed to wake up from a dream.

"It will just be a moment. You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil…."

"Percy….something off," Tempest added to Annabeth's nagging.

"Off?" Em said, going to unwrap the cloth on her head, "Not at all dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be off?"

"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" with that statement from Grover, they broke formation.

"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted, quickly tossing on her cap and disappearing. Tempest grabbed his sword and summoned his keyblade, dual wield the weapons. Heartless popped up and the statues themselves came alive. They started advancing on Tempest, finding him to be the immediate threat.

Tempest noticed too late that Percy hadn't moved, the boy now in Medusa's grasp.

"No! Don't!" The hissing was insistent now, the statues' thumping only blocking part of it out. Tempest decapitated what looked to be a bear, releasing the darkness from it.

"Freeze!" and he froze the statues in place. He squirmed out of an opening and held up his bronze blade to see behind him. What was Em had turned into a woman with snake hair and gnarled bronze taloned hands.

She was whispering to Percy, Tempest having to rip his gaze away from the mirror like steel to defend himself from the Heartless onslaught.

He hacked away the measly Shadows and leaped over the large bodies. The Heartless slowly thinned out, sometimes a Mega-shadow would disappear randomly. He was too focused on not dying to listen.

He was suddenly picked off the ground, turning to see a Wyvern type Heartless lifting him off the ground.

"I hate you! Bloody imitator!" Tempest growled feebly trying to strike the beast's eyes. It avoided each strike, every magical attack and even dodged a flying Grover zooming through the air with his eyes closed and a branch the size of a baseball bat in his hands.

It dropped Tempest on the roof of the building, several Soldier Heartless joining its party. He slashed the first one that dared close in, the second was smacked away. They then came in a torrent, en-mass as they piled on top of Tempest.

' _I don't have time to die! In! This! Hell! Hole!_ ' He kicked the top Heartless off, launching himself onto his feet. The pendant in his pocket was glowing a deep red. The same colour was alight in the gem of the serpent's eye.

Tempest threw his weapon at the scattered Heartless, defending himself with the other blade as Steel Storm returned to him. He caught the blade and went right back to destroying the Soldiers.

The Wyvern made occasional dive bombs, only to be dissuaded by the fire spells shot at it.

"Aero!" Tempest flung most of the Heartless off the building. The rest were smart enough to retreat, leaving the Wyvern on its own.

Tempest, feeling confident, jumped at it, Keyblade in hand. He lodged the blade under its head spike, dodging its biting jaws, Tempest flipped himself onto its back. He rode it into the roof, creating a huge hole in the ceiling. It thrashed around on the ground as Tempest whittled down its health before it slumped over, and resigned to fading back to wherever Heartless go after their demise.

Udderly exhausted, Tempest propped himself up with his keyblade only to. Percy and the others rushed into the room, just quick enough to see the fading light in Tempest's pocket and catch him from falling face first into the ground.

_|-w-|_

Tempest jolted awake from his dreamless sleep, the blankets on his body being flung off by the momentum.

"Hey, sleeping beauty is awake!" Tempest looked to the right to see Percy sitting on a log. The others were wrapped in blankets, the snoring one identifiable as Grover.

With a sigh, he stood up. The ground was littered in garbage ranging from wrappers to soda cans.

"Shifts?" Tempest asked, receiving a nod. "Go sleep, I'll take it from here."

"What? You got yourself knocked out just a few hours ago! Even I can see that you're in no shape to keep a lookout," Percy protested.

"I might have a concussion, sure. But I want some time alone, so sleep before I make you," Tempest growled, clearly not wanting an argument.

"Alright, chill," And Percy did so, wrapping himself in the blankets before knocking himself out.

Tempest took a seat on the log, watching as the moon rose in the pitch black of night. Feeling safe as the main road was just out of view, he slipped his helmet off. It was nice to feel the cool air on his scales without the helmet stuffing it up.

He looked up at the foreign constellations, the stars flickering. A single star winked into existence, going unnoticed by Tempest as he was diving into his stream of memories.

 _I'm tired of waking up in tears,_

' _Cause I can't put to bed these phobias and fears._

 _I'm new to this grief I can't explain,_

 _But I'm no stranger to the heartache and the pain._

Tempest quietly hummed, the lyrics singing in his head. Chris was an ok singer, only to himself though. He never sang right in front of Tempest, in fact, he seemed embarrassed to do so.

 _The fire I began, is burning me alive_

 _But I know better than... to leave and let it die~_

 _I'm a silhouette, askin' every now and then_

 _Is it oooover yet? Will I ever feel again?_

 _I'm a silhouette, chasin' rainbow on my own_

 _But the more I try to move on, the more I feel alone,_

 _So I watch the summer stars to lead me home…_

Chris always seemed to choke up on the last verse of the chorus. It was like he had no home to see anymore. This song seemed to hit right where it hurt for him like it described his life better than words.

 _I'm sick of the past I can't erase,_

 _A jumble of footsteps and hasty tracks I can't retrace._

 _The mountain of this I still regret,_

 _Is a vile reminder that I would rather just forget._

 _...No matter where I go…_

He ended his humming there, glaring at the yellow dots that peeked around the trees. The Heartless were still following them, but not attacking, confusing and frustrating Tempest. The added darkness in the air made it hard to do anything. When they hid again, Tempest relaxed as the darkness receded with them.

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked, taking out the pendant, the red gem reflecting his eyes. There was a bead on the cord now, a little, winged dragon carved on its metal surface and inked a crimson red. "I've gotten myself into a predicament that I can't seem to get away from."

A breeze whispered through the fireless camp. The sky was quite peaceful for being at war.

' _I wonder how long this will last…_ '

_|-w-|_

"So," Tempest looked down on the little poodle. "You're saying he's our way out to Los Angeles."

"Yup, his name's Gladiola," Grover said cheerily. The poodle barked once. "Oh, this is Tempest. Say hi!"

"..." Tempest resisted the urge to cough. "Hi...Gladiola…" Annabeth chose that time to come back. "Annabeth, say hi to the dog."

"What? Why?"

"...Because I already did, so you also have to," Tempest told her bluntly.

"And he's our ticket to Los Angeles," Grover piped up. "Annabeth, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Annabeth."

Annabeth said hello to the poodle after some persuasion.

"So what did you get?"

"Corn chips,"

"I'll pass,"

"Suit yourself," Tempest took a seat on a log, the poodle approaching him. It jumped onto his lap and curled up despite Tempest's displeasure.

"Well, the zombie lives." Annabeth was shaking Percy awake, the boy looking traumatized by something.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Long enough for me to cook breakfast," Annabeth tossed a corn chip bag at him. "And Grover went exploring. He found a friend along the way." Percy squirted at where Annabeth was pointing. Grover had insisted to put a blanket around the poodle, so Tempest was covered in a blanket along with Gladiola. The dog barked once.

"No, he's not," Grover told the poodle. Percy looked stunned.

"Are you… talking to that thing?" Gladiola raised his head up and growled at Percy.

"This _thing,_ " Grover said, warningly, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."

"You can talk to animals?" He ignored Percy's question, instead opting to stroke the poodle's head.

"Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy." Percy looked up at Annabeth with his jaw opening as if he were expecting something. She just glared.

"I'm not saying hello to the pink poodle," Percy dismissed, "Forget it."

"Percy," Annabeth put her hands on her hips, "I said hello to the pink poodle. Tempest said hello to the pink poodle. You say hello to the pink poodle." Gladiola vibrated in Tempest's lap, growling again. Percy said hi before the dog could bite him.

Grover then explained the reason the poodle was their way to Los Angeles, the $200 reward and such.

"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" Percy asked.

"He read the signs. Duh." Grover responded.

"Of course," Percy said, facepalming, "Silly me."

"We turn in Glady here. Then get the money to buy tickets to Los Angeles, correct?" Tempest said looking down at the dog.

"Glady?" Percy said, snorting.

"Shut up," Tempest said, gritting his teeth.

"Tickets, yes," Annabeth said, "Bus tickets?"

"No." Percy and Tempest said unanimously, quickly getting over their little scuffle.

"Then train tickets. There's an Amtrak station half a mile away. The westbound train leaves at noon." She stated.

"We should move soon then."

_|-w-|_

One thing led to another and soon Tempest along with the others were on the train. It turns out they Gladiola's owners had raised the reward to 300, meaning that the quartet wouldn't have any trouble getting Tempest onto the train.

Moving vehicles gave him a headache, making him spend most of his time in his seat or reading unless you counted the time he hopped on top of the train to take care of some Heartless that appeared. Percy will never let that memory die.

He stared at the front page of the newspaper, the metallic blur of Percy's sword and his armour in the photo, Tempest's head being cut off in the shot. Scanning the area around him and seeing everyone asleep, he lifted off his helmet and the photo changed, the sword in the picture turning into a tan coloured bat and his armour simply not present in the photo, being replaced by what looked to be normal human skin.

With a sigh, he let go of his helmet, letting it drop back onto his head with a click. Tempest then put the newspaper back down and looked out the window.

Tempest got up from his seat and walked past all the rows, being careful not to wake anyone along the way. He exited the car, a blast of wind hitting his face. Finding a footing, he climbed up onto the top of the train car.

Opening the journal, he reviewed the newest pages that had appeared in the… bathroom. For some godforsaken reason.

 **Entry #8**

Said some sort of goodbye to Kage and Saki. I'm leaving tomorrow. How Eraqus will react, I will never know. I don't think I'll be coming back anyways. Xehanort insisted I get another coat, something about my current one not being strong enough. Honestly, I don't know what the guy's talking about half the time. It's always 'darkness, darkness' or 'Descendant of an old race' yada yada yada. Well, to be fair, it's mostly in the notes he writes. I can't actually beat him over how he writes, that rambling might mean something later on. Who knows, it might even have something to do with his fascination with my scale colour. Gray isn't that rare of a Dragon colour… Ok, it might be, but I'm not that interesting. Hell, I think my dad is a better candidate for his weird questioning session, wherever he is.

 **Entry #9**

First world was an outer world. 'Full of potential' as Xehanort said. What potential, I will never know. Mostly because I just don't understand half of the things he says. At least he gave me some reading material. _The Theory of the Combined World_ , _Deities of an Ancient World_ , and the novel _Eden's Shelter_ by some guy.

On that note, I should probably find some hobbies other then sitting around and waiting for things to happen. After all, this first world is a giant wasteland full of sharp sticks.

 **Entry #10**

So. I have figured out that I hate water. Not like it was a surprise or anything. Second world: a giant ocean. As an outer world. Which are usually huge and sometimes have multiple layer/dimensions plus their own extended history. But not this one for some god forsaken reason. I'm surprised we didn't leave sooner, because flying while carrying someone is not fun and really hard to maintain.

Right now we're in the third world. It's much nicer, though Xehanort insists on calling it the 'Core World' for whatever reason. There's a lot of humans running around, meaning the only time I can run around safety is... actually, I can't. Too many people. I just can't. So now I'm stuck hiding in the sewers. Charming.

 **Saki's Letters #17**

Dear Chris,

I found an old camera today! Decided I should take some photos to send to you, after all, it's been, what? two years and a half? Anyways, i hope you like them! Gee, I wonder what adventures you've been to.

Saki.

There's a photo with what appears to be two Armonians standing in a foreign place. One is a black panther wearing a red checkered, sleeveless jacket, dark grey sweatpants, and a navy blue headband with a strange emblem pinned to it. The panther is wearing what looks like a leather band on his tail decorated with sapphires and bronze cats. He looks like he's mocking the shorter Armonian.

The other is a white wolf, shorter the panther who's wearing a sea blue hooded jacket with silver accents and a white t-shirt underneath. Her hair-like mane is in a braid behind her head tied with a thin, black ribbon. She's also wearing navy blue jeans. The wolf is glaring at the panther like she's trying to kill him with her eyes.

The two of them were standing in a town square with several townhouses behind them. It looks to be noon in the picture.

Tempest pockets the diary and re-entered the train, taking his seat and tried to get some shut eye.

Tomorrow would be a long day after all.

_|-w-|_

"Grrrrr, I'm going to kill them," Tempest growled, moving through the crowds of people getting off the train. He was currently following the faint trail of Percy's scent.

They had left Tempest on the train, something he was partially pissed about. He started running as soon as the trail grew stronger, leading to the huge arch in the middle of town.

A shadow lurked on the edge of his sight, only for it to disappear as soon as he turned to look. Tempest swore it looked like a cloaked figure.

Soon, another scent mixed with Percy's, something… more sinister.

He quickened his pace, Grover and Annabeth's trail suddenly strong enough to be sensed. He stopped at one end of the arch, where the trail was cut off by an elevator door with people lining up.

' _Shoot, they're already travelling up!_ ' Tempest cursed his luck, standing off to the side. Suddenly, a stream of fire burned a hole at the very top of the arch, startling him. Next thing he knew a shiny object fell from the hole, then a bigger one flailing as it fell into the waters below.

People went into hysterics, calling 911 and such things. Then the news reporters came, forcing Tempest to move. To him, it was a relief that no one recognized him from the bus incident as he moved to the water's edge.

Percy popped out, completely dry.

"T-Tempest!"

"Quiet," He hissed, "We don't need more people."

"R-right," He pulled Percy back onto land. Tempest ran off, motioning for Percy to follow as he tracked down the other two. The news reporters were everywhere, forcing the two to hid while searching.

"Perrr-cy!" Grover popped up from...somewhere, tackling the boy. Tempest sidestepped away.

"We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!" Grover whined.

"We can't leave you alone for five minutes!" Annabeth nearly shouted, face contorted with suppressed emotions, "What happened!?"

"He fell,"

"I sort of fell…"

"Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet!?" Annabeth looked like she was going to implode, only for an officer to cut her off.

"Gangway!" The crowd parted, allowing a stretcher to be moved forwards. On the stretcher was a woman, shouting deliriously about a fire-breathing chihuahua, only to make eye contact with Percy.

"There he is! That's the boy!"

Tempest immediately bolted, the words like a trigger as he ran. He hid in the shadows while the others ran into the crowd.

' _Damn, I thought that was for me…_ ' Tempest cringed.

"I thought you would be here, in one of your favourite worlds," A voice rumbled behind him. Tempest whipped his head around to see no one.

"Who's there?" he snarled automatically. He earned a chuckle from the lingering presence.

"I'm sorry, but I can let you see me...yet. I'm afraid of triggering some… unpleasant memories," With that, the shadowy presence disappeared, leaving Tempest in a daze.

He knew that voice.


	8. Chapter 7: A Revealed Horror

Chapter 7

A Revealed Horror

Tempest knows that he's terrible at concealing his emotions, after all, he'd never really needed to. He was basically always alone, so he had the space to cry and laugh all he wanted, even if he didn't do that often as he usually just shoved them aside in favour of focusing on his tasks. So this shock of a discovery had left him in unknown waters, shaking and afraid.

The other three pretended not to notice his failing attempts to quell his shaking, Grover especially.

So when they contacted camp then went to get food, he stayed out of the diner, saying he was going to sit this one out.

Now here he was, sitting on the roof and thinking. It was quiet, with the breeze silently flowing around him.

Suddenly, music flows into his ears. Startled, Tempest jumped, only to realize that there was something new on the helmet's display.

' _You really thought of it all, didn't you?_ ' Tempest thought, lifting his helmet off to wipe away the tears daring to fall down his face. He swore he could hear Chris snorting as if that were obvious, saying, _Of course, why not?_

' _Silly question, I know,_ ' He told no one in particular, tears still threatening to fall from his eyes. He takes out the necklace, rubbing it out of remorse.

In his sorrow, he misses the faint presence of darkness, the creaking of an opening door and the diminishing roar of a motor. Tempest also misses the faint glow of the crystal-like metals in his pocket as they slowly get absorbed by the armour he wore, the missing plates in his armour filling themselves in the ether where they were stored.

Suddenly, the trio exited the diner, worried emotions plastered on their faces.

"Hey Tempest," Annabeth was the one to speak, "We're going to raid a water park."

_|-w-|_

It was sunset when they arrived, the night sky almost visible as the sun sank behind the mountains. The gate to the water park was locked and barbed wire was placed on the top to deter trespassers. Old litter lay scattered at their feet.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date, I'd hate to see what she looked like," Percy said.

"Percy," Annabeth glared, "Be more respectful."

"Why? I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."

"You don't want to insult her looks." Grover cut in.

"Who is she? Echidna?"

"No, Aphrodite," Grover said, a little wistfully, "Goddess of love."

"I thought she was married to somebody… Hephaestus."

"What's your point?"

"Oh.. uh." Percy coughed and changed the subject hastily. "So, how do we get in?" Tempest was already at the gate, picking the lock.

"Anyone have a bobby pin?" he asked, looking at his broken paper clip.

"Here," Annabeth tossed one at him, which he caught and went back to the lock.

"There we go," Tempest muttered, popping the lock open. He tossed the bobby pin back then opening the gates. Grover was already on the other side, his shoes having sprouted white wings.

"I feel like you planned that." Tempest scoffed.

"I might've," Grover replied, shrugging. "You guys coming or what?"

They walked along the main walkway, looking at the rundown buildings and rides. There was no scent, just the usual salt smell that Percy always gave off.

They stopped at a souvenir shop three of the four staring at the rack of clothes.

"Clothes," Annabeth gasped, "Fresh clothes."

"Yeah," Percy breathed, "But you can't just-"

"Watch me,"

Annabeth took half a rack with her, disappearing into a changing room. She exited looking like a walking advertisement for a dead waterpark.

"Great _Naga_ ," Tempest snorted, looking away, "No…"

"What the heck." The other two took some clothes and when into the change room too, making Tempest want to just fall over.

"I don't even know anymore…"

"You sure you don't want any clean clothes, Tempest?" Percy shouted from inside one the stalls.

"I'm good."

"Suit yourself."

The other two came out, both looking like advertisements just like Annabeth.

"You should get some too, Tempest," Percy remarked, "It would look great on you."

"Shut it, salt breath."

They continued to look for the Tunnel of Love, being instructed by Ares to do so. A fetch quest, in essence. Tempest subconsciously hated fetch quests.

"So Ares and Aphrodite, they have a thing going?" Percy suddenly said, looking a bit worried by the dark.

"That's old gossip, Percy," Annabeth replied, "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."

"What about Aphrodite's husband?"

"Well, you know. Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"

"She likes bikers."

"Whatever."

"Hephaestus knows?"

"Oh sure. He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places like…"

She stopped in front of a pool, Tempest's eyes flicking up.

"Like that." It was a huge pool, bowl-shaped with bronze statues of cupids flanking the edges. He immediately gravitated to the statues, finding them a bit odd.

"Guys, look." Grover pointed at the bottom of the pool, where a pink and white boat with a canopy sat. A shield lay in the boat, making Tempest guilty he didn't notice the magical aura that it emitted.

"This is too easy," Percy said. "So we just walk down there and get it?"

"Too convenient…" Tempest muttered, going back to the statues. Something was off about it, yet nothing was too.

"There's a greek letter carved here, Eta. I wonder…" Annabeth whispered, deep in thought.

"Grover, you smell any monsters?"

Grover inhaled, "Nothing."

"Nothing like, in the Arch and you didn't smell Echidna nothing or really nothing?"

"I told you, that was underground."

"Okay, I'm sorry." He inhaled, "I'm going down there."

"I'll go with you." Grover offered.

"No. I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."

"Sure. But what could go wrong?" Tempest climbed onto the pedestal to take a closer look at the bow and arrow.

"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me-"

"Are you kidding?"

"What's the problem know?"

"Me, go with you to the...the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"

"Who's going to see you?" A pause. "Fine, Tempest." The Armonian turned to look at the boy and breathed.

"Gay shit." then returned to picking at the arrow, shaking the shaft. Another moment of silence.

"Thanks, Armour face. Way to kill the mood."

"There was a mood? Of what? Ecstatic shippers?" Tempest questioned, tilting his head upwards.

"You know what? Fine, I'll do it myself." Percy slide towards the boat, a scowl on his face. He clearly didn't like Tempest's little 'joke' (which he is crap at making). Surprisingly, Annabeth slides down with him, muttering something about males.

Tempest climbed to the top of the statue, looking at the seams.

' _Weird…_ ' He picked at the ridges, looking for a way to pry the thing clean open.

"Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."

' _Love magic? There's that now? How desperate are humans in trying to woo someone?'_ Tempest snorted, taking a look at the duo. Annabeth had a scarf poking out of her pocket, pink and cloaked in a red aura.

"What?"

"Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here." Percy shrugged at Annabeth's demand and reached for the shield only to freeze. Something in the statue shifted and creaked.

"Wait."

"Too late."

"There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap." Then the whole pool erupted in noise, gears creaking and what sounded like chains rattling.

"Guys!" Grover suddenly yelped. The cupid statue Tempest was studying drew its metallic bowstring, the arrow in its hand winding back.

"Shit," he launched himself off the statue right before the arrow fired, a bronze string trailing the thing. A net was forming from the threads. Taking a string in his hands and ignoring the thin strands that snaked their way up his arm, he cast a spell.

"Fira!" the threads melted in his hands, coating them in bronze coloured ink. He's too distracted to notice the upgraded spell.

The cupid's heads popped open, revealing cameras. Spotlights shone down from above as Tempest continued to melt the threads, having taken out his keyblade to use as a conduit.

" **Live to Olympus in one minute...Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight…** "

"Hephaestus!" Annabeth screamed over the gears, "I'm so stupid! Eta is 'H'. He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares! Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!"

Just as Percy reached for the rim of the pool when a hatch opened and little metallic insect-like things cascaded out.

Annabeth reacted by screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Spiders!" She shouted, a look of unparalleled terror on her face. "Sp-sp-aaaaaaah!"

"Damnit!" Tempest just misses her hand. Percy caught her instead, slipping back towards the boat as the spider things flooded the area.

"This is a pool, right?" Tempest asked Grover, who gave a shaky 'yes'.

"Find the on switch for the pump or something! Go!" He scrambled into the booth, randomly slamming at buttons and hoping for a result.

"Nothing's working!" Grover reported back, voice quaking in fear. Tempest looked down at the spider-infested pool, right at Percy.

"Jackson! There's water under your feet!"

"Got it!"

" **Thirty-four, Thirty-three…** " A pipe exploded, flooding the pool with water and creating a whirlpool, thrashing the boat around. Annabeth was still screaming in a blind panic, eyes frantically darting from one short-circuiting construct to the other. Percy was trying his hardest at controlling the water as it continued to spin them around.

"Fira!" Tempest burned the threads that relentlessly tried to mend the netting before equipping his glider, forming a pair of wings on his back. "Hold tight!"

" **Twenty-five, Twenty-four, Twenty-three…** " Tempest lands on the roof of the boat, punching a hole in it and grabbing the panicking Annabeth.

"I can't pick up two people," Tempest told Percy, fighting against Annabeth's struggling form, "You're on your own!"

"What?!"

"You're the son of the sea god, for Christ's sake! Do something with your hydrokinesis!" With that Tempest launched himself off the roof, Annabeth calming down slightly. He swiftly lands onto the pool rim, putting the girl down before whipping out Chris' Keyblade too cast another Fira spell.

"When did you learn to fly!?" Annabeth suddenly shouted, staring in shock at the dissipating wing/glider on Tempest's back.

"Mmmm… a few years ago." He hummed, focusing on Percy's movements.

"A few years!?" The boat immediately jumped out of the swirling pool, crashing into a rundown fast food building. Percy stumbled out from the wreck, the shield strapped firmly to his arm. He puts his hands on his knees and starts panting.

Grover is the first to react, running to Percy's side.

Tempest lets Chris' blade go back into the ether, unaware of Annabeth's mumbling something about Keyblades.

"Never… again," Percy whispered, still recovering.

The sound of gears stopped on their own, the cupid-cams closing up and the threads melting into a pool of bronze at the bottom. The spotlights clicked shut and the counting stopped, leaving a normal, dark, abandoned waterpark.

"Why did we do this again?" Tempest asked, feeling a bit peeved.

"For a shield." Percy answered, "That reminds me, we need to have a little talk with Ares."

_|-w-|_

"So," Tempest put his hands against his mouth, "let me get this straight. Ares gave us a ride." Nod, "And it's a cargo truck," nod, "with is also filled with animals."

"Basically."

"Fine, I'll get in." Tempest got in first, as immediately recoiled after smelling the interior. Inside there were cages lined up, zebras, lions and other exotic creatures behind steel bars. They were painted different colours, streamers and other human-made products stuck in their furs and horns. The herbivores were meat, the lion, a sack of turnips.

"Verbal irony…" Tempest said remorsefully, remembering the name painted on the truck. The others grunted in agreement, seeing the pitiful state the animals were in. They moved to the very back of the truck, hiding behind the lion cage and sitting of some sacks of food. The air was stiflingly moist and hot. It started moving after a little while.

Soon, Tempest couldn't take it anymore. After Annabeth's little 'plan' to free the lion right then and there, he opted to just switch the foodstuffs.

He quietly scooted over to the lion's cage, silently pulled out the bronze katana and stabbed the nearest turnip. Tempest slowly moving the blade back out and dropped it in the zebra's cage. Annabeth had brought out the tray of hamburger meat, dropping it into the lion's cage. Grover was doing his best to calm the animals.

After all that, Tempest slumped against the lion cage, watching as the big catwalk over and lay against the cool bars. He took a beam in hand and forced some converted mana into them, looking as white mist peeled off the cold beam.

When Annabeth started talking, he was only half asleep.

"Hey, I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Percy, Tempest."

"'S fine..." Tempest slurred.

"That's okay," Percy said, clearly more awake then Tempest.

"It's just.." She shivered, "Spiders."

"Because of the Arachne story. She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"

"Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyways, I owe you two."

"We're a team, remember? Besides, Tempest did some fancy flying."

"'M not _that_ good…" Tempest said through his half-asleep state. He heard them snort at his idiocy.

Before the two could start another conversation, Tempest slipped into his subconscious.

 _He was met by the soft, green glow of his stained glass floor. The bright crimson of his jacket, the warm glow of the sunset of Twilight Town. He missed the little town._

 _Tempest moved to the center of the platform, staring at the two Keyblades that were stabbed through the floor without a crack. There was a keychain too, the one he had found in a dumpster, the steel coloured one with the green crystal. It had meaning, he just didn't know what meaning._

 _The Keyblades were his and Chris'. He missed his old mentor, even if he was a little annoying. Tempest wiped away the tears on his face then stared out into the void. There was a speck of colour, out there in the distance. One that glowed blue and reminded him of the sea. He didn't know if it was just his imagination that put the platform out there in the distance and he was never able to confirm or deny it. After all, he didn't have wings._

' _Guess I'll wait here until someone wakes me up…' He hummed, letting his legs hang off the platform and dangle just above the void. He was still avoiding that memory._

_|-w-|_

 _A raven watched as a kid in a straightjacket struggled. There were other kids in the room, filling out the door. There was a teacher, scolding the poor child's tardiness. There was another one, with black, punk-styled hair and dark eyeliner. She was also wearing a straitjacket._

 _A howl of wind, a screech of something unholy and the raven suddenly disappeared, and the dream melted to nothing._

Tempest awoke to the motionless truck, quickly moving behind a sack of feed. The others had felt it too, hiding behind the feed sacks too.

The trailer doors creaked and flung all the way up allowing sunlight and heat to flood the interior.

"Man!" A gruff voice exclaimed, "I wish I hauled appliances." He climbed inside and picked up a water jug and pour some in the water dishes. He stopped at the lion's cage.

"You hot, big boy?" He sneered, dumping the rest of the water on the lion's face, who growled weakly in irritation.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the man huffed. He then threw the antelope a squashed happy meal bag. Then turned to the zebra.

"How ya doin' Stripes? Least we'll be getting rid of _you_ this stop. You like magic shows? You're gonna love this one. They're gonna saw you in half!"

The zebra looked in Percy's direction and knickered. A warped silhouette raced out the trailer, a few bangs following its disappearance.

"What do you want, Eddie?"

"Maurice? What'd ya say?"

"What banging?" the one inside left to go bicker with his friend. Annabeth came back then.

"This transport business can't be legal." She said, taking off her cap.

"No kidding." A pause, a rumble from the lion. "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!" The zebra knickered again, as if talking to Percy.

"We've got to free them!" Grover exclaimed. The two both looked at Percy from confirmation. The boy himself looked deep in thought, having an inner debate with himself almost.

The zebra looked desperate, and head butted the cage.

The people outside were shouting at each other, but it wouldn't last.

"We have to move, now." Tempest hissed to Percy, "We don't have much time." Percy nodded, and slashed the zebra's cage open. Grover gave what looked like a blessing to the animal.

Just as one of the men peeked in the trailer to see what the noise was, the zebra jumped out and landed on the man. Panic ensued, cars honking, people screaming and just general chaos.

"Hey," someone yelled from outside the trailer. "You need a permit for that!" Tempest acted on instinct, creating a hole for the other two animals.

"Just read my mind," Grover whistled quietly before proceeding to give the same blessing like for the zebra.

"Good luck," Percy told them as they left. More screaming.

"Will the animals be okay?" Percy asked Grover, "I mean, the desert and all-"

"Don't worry. I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely. They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."

"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?"

"It only works on wild animals."

"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth deadpanned.

"Hey!"

"Kidding. Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."

The four of them started to walk, and somewhere along the way, Tempest got split up from the others.

' _Shit_ ,' was a reasonable reaction. He scaled a building, reaching it's a fairly low roof. A spike in Darkness made his stomach drop.

"Shit." A few dozen heartless appeared. Emblem Heartless and a few Pureblood.

"Fira!"

' _This is going to take a bit_.' He grimaced, dual wielding his bronze blade and the Keyblade. He plowed through the horde, only to have more heartless take their place.

They were slowly overpowering him, pushing him into a corner.

' _Damnit, damnit, dammit!_ ' He cursed, flinging a Soldier off the roof only to be slammed in the gut by a Air Soldier.

Tempest sliced it clean in half, kicking its fading body off the edge. He impaled an approaching Large body through the gut and used it as a club to knock half of the Heartless before it, too, faded.

Then, the darkness forces dogpiled him just like when he was at the warehouse.

"Asure Fira!" A blast of blue tinted fire launched the Heartless all off, burning all to a crisp. Tempest started panting, letting the Keyblade disappear and slowly sheathed the katana, not caring one bit about the attack he pulled off.

"Time to find the others." He said, donning the wings before leaping off the building.

.

.

.

Half a day had gone by and he still hasn't found the others. He lifted the sub in his hands. He had paid for it with transformed munny. It felt weird to have currency on him, after all those years of having nothing then the clothes on his back and the fact no one wanted him in the houses or stores. This Mist stuff was doing him good.

He was sitting on another roof, with his armour off and jacket tied around his waist. Tempest took a bit from the sub, staring off into the pitch-black sky.

Finding a place to sleep wouldn't be an issue. Fining the others will be. After all, he had lost track of Salt breath's trail. And that's usually not possible.

He finished the sub and re-donned the armour, his jacket still tied around his waist. To bad the HUB didn't have a map to follow or finding the others would be just too easy.

.

.

.

Another day, another failure. Tempest still hadn't found the others. He had, however, found a trail. It had lead to a casino that smelt of… something. It gave off a tremendous amount of magic, something that made him back away.

So here he was now, fending off another horde of Heartless on another rooftop.

Tempest smacked away a diving Shadow, bored with the small amount of enemies. He sweeps away the rest of the Shadows then takes a seat on the roof.

' _Guess I'll do some reading…_ '

 **Entry #11**

Xehanort made a mistake. Computers plus me equals disaster. At least the music is good. I even started to… _illegally_ _download some_. Hey, apparently they have every citizen listed in a supercomputer or something. So to them, I don't exist. So it's fine, right?

Anyways, I now have a stack of CDs full of songs. Maybe I'll start writing my own some day. Won't that be interesting?

 **Entry #12**

So. Fanfiction. That's new. I honestly don't know what to say about it. Some of it is really frickin' good, others… not so much. Not so much is actually an understatement. I guess humans are really complicated.

Today I also found out that I am an amazing pickpocket. I returned everything, of course, but It astounds me how unperceptive some humans are. Well, always looking down at the phone of yours can't be a good thing, I've seen my fair share of car crashes. Seems like they haven't even started to study the immense amount of mana around them.

They really are stupid, aren't they?

 **Entry #13**

Xehanort finished up his business finally after a week of waiting in the sewers. I swear the people have already made a urban legend about the 'Lizard in the pipes' or something.

Anyways, the fourth world. It's literally a universe inside a universe. I'm not even going to try to explain it. Also, giant space cats. Enough said.

 **Saki's Letters #26**

Dear Chris,

Children, hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… (It goes on like that for a pretty long time)

So. Eraqus got some kids. Now there's two more warm bodies in the castle and they are so. Fricking. _Cute and annoy, i just can't anymore!hhhhhhhh_

Saki.

' _She must've gotten a typewriter or a printer sometime in the past_ ,' Tempest hummed thoughtfully, putting away the book.

.

.

.

Honestly, Tempest didn't know what to think. Sure, he found them. But it was behind a huge, fricking, magic barrier. And it's anchor was inside the barrier, and he can't get to it because he can't just walk through a mana gate. So here he is now, silently screaming his head off while sitting on a roof on the other side of the street of the hotel/casino.

Tempest just sat there, hoping that the others see through the illusion themselves, after all, they were running out of time.

.

.

.

"Blizzard!" Tempest froze the front line of Heartless before unleashing an Aero spell, blowing away the back line. He equipped his glider and left the ground, a chain link and steel rope tail trailing behind him.

It had been five days since his separation from the group, one day was left. The sky was so dark it looked black and Tempest was sure rain was going to pore down on him.

A wyvern dive bombed him, catching Tempest right in the stomach.

"Rrrrrrr," He growled, getting slammed into a nearby wall. The keyblade sliced through the dragon-like Heartless like butter, it's left wing appendage severed from the rest of the monster. It toppled over, unable to keep its balance anymore. Tempest kicked it aside as he blocked a Soldier as it leaped from a roof. He used the other blade to chop the armoured Heartless in half before another one leaped at him from behind.

"Tempest!" A tin can flew from beyond the alleyway, striking the Soldier and moved its path of flight. Tempest spun around and smacked the Heartless, sending it into the wall.

"Took you guys long enough!" Tempest fumed, flipping the bronze blade and stabbing a Shadow approaching behind him, "Five days. Five. God. Damn. Days!"

"We get it!" Annabeth shouted before Percy could shout back, "Now we better go, we're wasting time!"

"Right," Tempest said, running after the others.

At the side of the road, Annabeth hailed a taxi and ushered them inside. Tempest was pushed into the front seat. Annabeth leaned towards the driver.

"Los Angeles, please." The driver chewed his cigar, gave a glance at Tempest, then at the other three.

"That's three hundred miles. For that, you gotta pay up front."

"You accept casino debit cards?"

"Some of 'em. Same as credit cards. I gotta swipe 'em through first." She handed over a green card with a golden icon on it. The driver eyed it.

"Swipe it,"

He did so. The machine started shaking and made rattling noises before the dollar sign came up with an infinity symbol. Tempest's jaw dropped, gaining some shocked glances.

The cigar fell out of the driver's mouth.

"Where to in Los Angeles… uh, Your Highness?"

"The santa Monica Pier. Get there fast, and you can keep the change."

The taxi driver did his best.

_|-w-|_

"What got you so scared back on the train?" Percy suddenly asked, making the memory come back for Tempest.

"Nothing," He grimaced, doing his best to keep his voice steady.

"I don't believe you,"

"Nobody believes me,"

"Come on! You saw something, so spill it!"

"..." Tempest had turned to glare at Percy, who was sitting in the back set with his arms crossed and a determined expression on his face. He wasn't just going to let this slip by. "Why do you want to know? It has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with the team. So spill."

"I recognize someone." Tempest begrudgingly said, fiddling with the sheath in his lap.

"That's not so bad."

"It is. Because it's from my teacher's past."

"Then how do you know him?"

"...My teacher had a thing for voice imitation, even if he couldn't get the female voices right."

"So, you recognize his voice because of your teacher? How are you sure about this?"

"Because it matches up perfectly. And I don't like what he said…" The driver was too focused on the road to listen to the two.

"What did he say then?"

"It's none of your business, human!" He suddenly barked. Nothing else was exchanged from that point on. Only shocked expressions and suspicious glances.

.

.

.

As promised, the driver got to keep the change. Tempest was the first to exit, not taking another glance at the others as they reached the beach.

He had half a mind to leave, just get out of their vicinity, but some part of him begged the conscious mind not to. So he didn't, instead just stood at the very edge and watched at a distance. He watched as Percy started walking into the surf, the humans on the dunes doing whatever the heck.

"Percy?" Annabeth called out. Said boy had gone completely underwater now. She stopped calling after the fifth time. She turned to Tempest and shot him a glare. ' _You're not out of that mess yet._ ' was what it relayed, something Tempest knew well enough.

Percy came back, and Tempest trailed behind them. He had to shove the three into alleyways to avoid cops, he was still going to his job even they hated him.

Time slipped away as he followed them, the length of time a blur. The they were chased by a gang possessed kids wearing expensive white clothing. Percy swung his blade, only for it to pass through the kid harmlessly.

"We move. NOW" Tempest pushed them farther into the alley. They backed up into a waterbed store. The kids ran past the store, almost like it wasn't there.

"I think we lost them…" Grover panted.

"Lost who?"

' _Shit_ ,' Tempest stayed frozen in place. Something knocked against his head, and he was out cold.

.

.

.

' _YOU.' A voice boomed in his head, male or female, he didn't know. 'YOU LEFT ME WITH ALL THE PAIN AND AGONY YOU LEFT BEHIND. I WILL FIND YOU, AND LET YOU TASTE THE POISON THAT IS VENGEANCE.'_

' _What do you want!?' he yelled into the void. He received a backlash of emotions, hate, anger, betrayal._

 _Then everything faded into nothing, nothing at all._

.

.

.

Tempest, in a blind rage, jumped up and bit the nearest object, which happened to be a length of rope.

 _Snap_! The metal string snapped in his powerful jaws. In the middle of the comotion, Tempest's helmet slipped off, more notably the top half, revealing his scales and slitted navy blue eyes.

"Woah!" In one bound, he crossed the room and slammed into the giant in the room, forcing him into the wall. A gauntlet was removed on command and a heart was forcefully ripped from a chest. Tempest's eyes returned to normal, his expression turning from one of pure fury to confusion, then disappointment.

"Damn," He chucked the heart, now turning to dust, against the wall, "It's been two years. What changed?" He muttered, turning to the morifuled faces of the others. "Sure, yell at me all you want."

"I knew there was something off about you!" Annabeth immediately said, pulling out a knife.

"An overgrown lizard?" Percy yelped.

"Call me what you want, it's not like others haven't ridiculed me before," Tempest growled, cleaning off some of the disappearing monster muck. He walked over and put the helmet back on his head after strapping the gauntlet back on.

"I'll be waiting outside. Do what the hell you want." He stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.

He took a seat on the steps, putting a hand on his jaw and closed his eyes.

' _One stupid mistake an I blew it_. _Plus I haven't gone berserk since two years ago, what changed?_ '

"Gotcha," Someone behind him said, then his helmet was popped out.

"Hey!" Tempest turned around to see Annabeth with half his helmet under her arm.

"You're going to tell me where you came from, or I'm not returning this," Annabeth threatened.

"Why should I tell you? Nobody listened to me before, why should I think you will?" Tempest shot back.

"Because there's no record of a humanoid dragon in Greek legends that match your level of intelligence and description. Plus your higher then average senses, reflexes and unique variant of swordplay gave you away."

"Fine." Tempest grunted, "I'll give you a hint." He raised his arm and pointed at the sky. "Figure it out yourself. As for what I am." He ripped the helmet from her loosened grasp.

"I don't think you'll know, even if you are the child of wisdom." Annabeth just stood still as Tempest returned to sitting silently on the steps.

* * *

 **A/N: Have a sloppy chappy. Real life things are getting in the way, so I might put some things on hiatus. In the meantime feel free to review and send me some 'world' ideas. Anyways, sloppy chappy= less motivation+ the will to do anything other than something productive. Hope you guys aren't mad.**

 **~Storm**


	9. Chapter 8: A Last Intro

**A/N: I have reason to fear people will hate me for this chapter. You'll see. You'll have your own opinion. I'll just sit here, cowering in paranoia... Have fun with this 6,5k~ chappy. This chapter was written before my I got hit with a crap ton of work. So, have fun. I'm not very happy with it, the fighting segments are crap, but have fun.**

 **~Storm**

* * *

Chapter 8

A Last Intro

The plan was simple, get into the Underworld, talk to Hades, get Percy's mom back and ditch the place with the white marbles that the nymph gave him. The plan then resorted to bribery, which Tempest wasn't really fine with, but he let it slide this one time.

When the elevator started moving forwards, that's when he started having second thoughts about following them into the Underworld. All the dead people that surrounded him on the elevator turned boat unnerved him, the lack of emotion and the missing hearts in the souls.

The river the boat was riding upon was full of old, unwanted things, oil, toys, little pieces of plastic floating on the muddy brown/green surface. If Tempest looked a little closer, then he might've seen the dull sheen of forgotten pennies on the bottom of the river.

Grover took hold of Tempest's jacket, holding it in a bunch while shaking uncontrollably. He could taste the trust in the air, no matter the revelations about Tempest's true nature or issues, Grover refused to avoid him like the plague, instead, keeping close to him no matter how Tempest tried to get away.

Tempest let out a sigh and put a hand of the boat's edge.

Something let out a howl, shaking the cavern walls making dust fall from the ceil. Charon let out a chuckle.

"Looks like old three face is hungry, bad luck for you Godlings."

Tempest gave him a questioning look. The boat stopped and the souls started getting off, pushing the others along with them.

"I would wish you luck, mate, " Charon gestured around him, "But there isn't any down here. Mind you, don't forget about my pay raise." He idly counted the gold coins before moving on, humming some unknown tune.

The four followed the robe wearing spirits up a worn path.

_|-w-|_

"I don't know what I was expecting," Percy said, stopping at the entrance of the Underworld. It looked like airport security decided to lend a hand in creating this lineup system, three lines with large signs on top. One large arch held another sign: _YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS_.

"What do you figure?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"The fast line must go straight to the Asphodel Fields. No contest. They don't want to risk judgment from the court, because it might go against them.

"There's a court for dead people?"

"Yeah, three judges. They switch around who sits on the bench. King Minos, Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare- people like that. Something they look at a life and decided that person needs a special- the Fields of Elysium. Sometimes they decide on punishment. But most people, well, they just lived. Nothing special, good or bad. So they go to the Asphodel Fields."

"And do what?"

Grover piped up.

"Imagine standing in a wheat field in Kansas, forever."

"Harsh."

"Not as harsh as that. Look." Grover pointed at a couple of black-robbed ghouls pulling aside a spirit. Percy seemed to know the face of the man.

"He's that preacher who made the new, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Percy said. Tempest was really lost at this point.

"What're they doing to him?"

"Special punishment from Hades. The really bad people get his personal attention as soon as they arrive. The Fur- the Kindly Ones will set up an eternal torture for him." Percy shivered at the thought.

"But if he's a preacher and he believes in a different hell…"

"Who says he's seeing this place the way we're seeing it? Humans see what they want to see. You're very stubborn-er, persistent, that way."

They approached the gates, only to stop in front of one, large, shadowy guardian.

"He's a Rottweiler." Was all Percy had to say. Cerberus was huge, towering over them while transparent drool flowed from his three mouths.

"I'm starting to see him better. Why is that?"

"I think...I'm afraid it's because we're closer to being dead," Annabeth answered. The dog sniffed the air and let out a low growl.

"It can smell the living…" Percy nervously said.

"But that's okay…" Grover whimpered, hiding behind Tempest and using the Armonian as a meat shield. "Because we have a plan."

"Right, a plan." Annabeth trembled. They moved towards the beast, Tempest extremely weary as it was cloaked in darkness like Heartless.

"Can you understand it?" Percy asked Grover.

"Oh yeah, I can understand it."

"What's it saying?"

"I don't think humans have a four-letter word that translates exactly."

"You mean food, right." Tempest idly asked, putting a hand on the sheathed blade handle.

"N-not helping!" Grover stuttered out. Percy materialized a stick from his bag, something that looked like a bedpost.

' _This isn't gonna work._ '

"Hey, Big Fella. I bet they don't play with you much."

 _GROWWWLLL!_

' _This isn't gonna work._ '

"Good boy." Percy started waving the stick around.

' _This plan is stupid_ ,'

"Fetch!" He threw the bedpost into the river. The huge Rottweiler didn't even budge. It growled again, low, and scornful.

' _There goes everything_.'

"Um, Percy?" Grover shiver.

"Yeah?"

"I just thought you'd want to know."

"Yeah?"

"Cerberus? He's saying that we've got ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice. After that… well… he's hungry."

"Wait!" Annabeth shouted, rummaging around in her own backpack.

"Five seconds. Do we run?" Grover said, just as Annabeth produced a red rubber ball the size of a grapefruit with the Waterland logo on it. She marched up to Cerberus, fake bravery on her face.

"See this ball? You want the ball, Cerberus? Sit!" She commanded. The huge dog looked stunned, and so was Tempest. Pupils dilated, nostrils flared in in interest. It licked it's three lips, shifted around, then sat right down, crushing a few dozen spirits under him.

"Good boy!" Annabeth complemented it, tossing the ball to it.

"She's causing a distraction," Tempest hissed to Grover and Percy.

"What? We can't just leave her!" Percy protested.

"She knows what she's doing. So come on!" Tempest approached the beast, gave it a look, then walked right through. Cerberus growled in response, only for Annabeth to yell at it.

He waited at the other side, watching as the other three passed through.

"Good boy," Annabeth said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Seems like it really likes you," Tempest remarked, keeping his voice neutral. She talked to the beast a bit more before pushing them through the EZ DEATH gate and triggered a whole bunch of alarms.

They dove behind a huge log of an old, black tree while security ran wild around them.

"Well, Percy, what have we learned today?" Grover muttered.

"That three-headed dogs prefer red rubber balls over sticks?"

"No. We've learned your plans really, really bite!" Grover told him. Percy didn't look convinced, instead, he looked a bit saddened.

Cerberus could be heard whimpering from far away, a melancholy sound that rang above the sirens.

It struck a chord with Tempest, making him feel a bit bad for leaving the hound alone.

_|-w-|_

"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully. They had been walking around for a little bit now, dodging the patrolling ghouls that came by now and again.

"We'll be okay," Percy said, trying to sound confident.

"Maybe we should search some of the other places first, like Elysium, for instance…"

"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward. Grover yelped, his shoes sprouting white wings that shot forwards. He landed on his back, flat on the charcoal coloured grass.

"Grover, stop messing around." Annabeth chided.

"But I didn't-" A pulse of a command spell caught Tempest's attention, just as Grover lurched forward again. This time the shoes floated off the ground and started dragging him away from the group.

" _Maia!_ " He shouted. " _Maia,_ already! Nine-one-one! Help!" Tempest jumped forwards, grabbing at Grover's shirt. The magic pulsed in response, darting forwards and downhill.

"Untie the shoes!" Annabeth yelled, running after the runaway satyr.

They ran after him into a darker corridor reeking of darkness that made Tempest start worrying.

"Grover! Hold on to something!"

"What?" The satyr was desperately clinging to anything he grab a hold of, gravel, stalagmites, the smooth stone that surrounded them. The darkness was getting to Tempest, invading his mind with old thoughts. Despite this, he forged on.

"Woah!" he skidded to a stop just before falling in a hole that glowed red at the bottom.

"Come on, Percy!" Annabeth tugged the petrified teen who was staring wide-eyed at the chasm.

"But that's-"

"I know! The place you described in your dream! But Grover's going to fall if it's just Tempest grabbing on to him!"

Tempest had caught Grover's hand, fighting against the magical shoes that threatened to pull them into the ominous hole in the ground.

"Shake 'em off!" Tempest told Grover. One shoe flew off, diving right into the pit while it's twin continued its command.

Tempest summoned his Keyblade then stabbed it into the ground.

"Grab hold!" Grover obeyed. Percy and Annabeth rushed over and pried the other shoe off, watching as it too dove into the pit. Tempest just sat down on the gravel ridden ground, leaving the Keyblade there stuck in the rock. The four sat there in silence for a good while.

"I don't know how...I didn't…" Grover panted, shivering in fear. Tempest casted a weak Cure over him to relieve him of some of his cuts and bruises.

"Wait. Listen." Tempest wanted to fold in on himself when Percy said those words. The whispering was what made him shiver though.

"Wh-what's that noise?"

"Tartarus." Annabeth informed them, "The entrance to Tartarus."

Percy uncapped a pen, transforming it into a sword, glowing pure against the angry red of the pit. A breeze exited the pit, with it a huge blast of darkness.

' _It's been here for a long time_ ,' Tempest though. ' _No one's gonna remove this one in a long time._ '

"We should leave," Tempest said quietly, almost a whisper. He pulled his Keyblade out of the ground and let it return to the pocket dimension. "I don't think we are meant to be here yet."

Stunned face watched as he turned to leave the tunnel, shocked because they had never truly seen Tempest act this way. Never this protective as it was either just rough pulling or he just acted on his own while giving commands. He never spoke this quietly, as if he were truly afraid of this place.

And he had a reason too. A reason that came from his Master.

_|-w-|_

They passed Persephone's garden, walking right up to Hades' gates. The guards parted and they hesitantly went through.

"You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon. After what you have done to me, very brave indeed/ Or perhaps you are simply very foolish." Hades was sitting upon a throne of ivory white bones, fused together into a monstrous thing.

Percy shook slightly as he stepped forward.

"Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests." The albino God raised an eyebrow. His clothes shimmered with the faces of damned souls, faces all twisted in permanent torment.

"Only two requests? Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet." Percy swallowed, his eyes wandering the grand hall. Annabeth coughed, poking Percy in the back to get him back on track.

"Lord Hades. Look, sir, there can't be a war among gods. It would be...bad."

' _Bad is an understatement. Catastrophe is more like it_."

"Really bad." Grover echoed.

"Return Zeus' master bolt to me. Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus."

The amount of power that radiated off of Hades made Tempest cringe.

"You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?" Percy gave a 'What now?', turning back to his friends for info only to see they were as confused as he was.

"Um… Uncle. You keep saying 'after what you've one.' What exactly have I done?" The room shook when those words left Percy's mouth. Dust fell from the ceil and Tempest almost tripped over nothing. Doors burst open and a skeletal army poured out of them. They lined the walls and blocked off all exits.

"Do you think I want war, godling?" The Lord of the Dead bellowed, rocking the room further.

"You are the Lord of the Dead," Percy said slowly, choosing his words carefully, "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"

"A typical thing for my brothers to say!" Hades spat, "Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"

"Well…"

"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?!" Percy looked like he was about to say something, only to be cut off by Hades' rant.

"More security ghouls. Traffic problems at the judgement pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"

"Charon wanted a pay raise," Percy blurted out, covering out his mouth in regret afterwards.

"Don't get me started on Charon! He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle it all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. _NO_ , godling. I need no help getting subjects. _I_ did not ask for this war."

"But you took Zeus' master bolt."

"Lies!" Hades had risen from his throne. "Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan."

"His plan?"

" _You_ were the thief on the winter solstice. Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus. You took the master bolt and my helm. Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helm back!"

"But…" Annabeth paused, "Lord Hades, your helm of darkness is missing, too?"

"Do not play innocent with me, girl. You, that satyr and that...beast have been helping his hero- coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt- to bring me an ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?"

"No! Poseidon didn't-I didn't-"

"I have said nothing of the helm's disappearance because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. I can ill afford for word to get out that my powerful weapon of fear is missing. So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you."

"You didn't try to stop us? But-"

"Return my helm now, or I will stop death. That is my counterproposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson- _your_ skeleton will lead my army out of Hades." The soldiers took a step in from the wall.

"You're as bad as Zeus." Percy spat, suddenly very displeased with the god. "You think I stole from you? That's why you sent the Furies after me?"

"Of course,"

"And the other monsters?"

Hades peeled back his lip in disgust.

"I had nothing to do with them. I wanted to no quick death for you- I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torture in the Fields of Punishment. Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom so easily?"

" _Easily_?"

"Return my property!"

"But I don't have your helm. I came for the master bolt."

"Which you already possess! You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could threaten me!"

"But I didn't!"

"Open your pack then."

Percy paled, shaking in realization as he slipped the bag off his shoulders. He unzipped the bag and slowly produced a bronze and glass canister. It hummed with power, filling the entire room with its aura.

"Percy…How?" Annabeth said, confused.

"I-I don't know. I don't understand."

"You heroes are always the same. Your pride makes you foolish, thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus' master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. And now… my helm. Where is it?"

Tempest numbly walked over to the bag, stuck his hand in it.

"There is no helm…" Tempest said quietly, so no one else could hear him, not even the god in the room.

"Lord Hades, wait. This is all a mistake."

"A mistake?!" Hades roared, the skeleton in the room all aimed their ranged weapons. The Furies had appeared, flapping above the ivory throne.

"There is no mistake. I know why you have come- I know the _real_ reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for _her_."

Hades summoned a golden ball of fire into the palm of his hand and threw it in front of Percy, immediately morphing into the shape of a woman seemingly being squeezed to death as she yelled to something far away.

Percy reached out to touch her, only to recoil as the light burned him.

"Yes, I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me eventually. Return my helm, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change."

Percy stood still, only his hand moved, fiddling with the pearls in his pocket.

"Ah, the pearls," Hades said, making Percy freeze. "Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson."

His hand jerked out, four marbles glistening in his palm.

"Only four. What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person. Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of your friends will you leave behind and spend eternity with me? Go on. Choose. Or give me the backpack and accept my terms."

Percy turned to face the others.

"We were tricked," He said grimly, "Set up."

"Yes, but why? And the voice in the pit-"

"I don't know yet. But I intend to ask."

"Decide, boy!" Hades commanded, getting impatient.

"Percy," Grover put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "You can't give him the bolt."

"I know that."

"Leave me here. Use the fourth pearl on your mom."

"No!"

"I'm a satyr. We don't have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won't get me forever. I'll just be reincarnated as a flower or something. It's the best way." Grover said.

"No," Annabeth said, drawing out her knife. "You guys go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. You have to get your searcher's license and start your quest for Pan. Get his mom out of here. I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."

"No way, I'm staying behind." Grover stubbornly said.

"Think again, goat boy."

Tempest turned to the undecided boy, holding the pearls in shaking hands.

"Time to choose, the last sacrifice. _And you shall fail to save what mattered most, in the end_." He didn't know where the last part came from, something prodding the back of his mind made him spill the words. Whatever it was, it made Percy steel his resolve.

"Stop it, both of you!" He broke up the fight, making to two freeze. Percy placed a pearl in each of their hands, then turned to Tempest and gave him one too.

"But, Percy…" Annabeth said, looking at the pearl. The boy had turned to face the frozen face of his mother.

"I'm sorry. I'll be back. I'll find a way." Hades' smirk had faded, replaced by a look of uncertainty.

"Godling…?"

"I'll find your helm, Uncle. I'll return it. Remember about Charon's pay raise."

"Do not defy me-"

"And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls."

"Percy Jackson, you will not-"

"Now, guys!" Four pearls were crushed simultaneously. For a second, nothing happened.

"Destroy them! Especially the Keybearer!" Hades howled. Everything in the room burst with movement, the sounds of guns cocking, the scraping sounds of swords escaping their sheaths and the crackling flames of the Furies whips.

Tempest equipped his glider and curled up, using the wings as a shield was the skeletons opened fire. Nothing happened, only the clicking of bullets hitting the ground.

"Look up!" Grover shouted. Tempest cracked open his eyes only the see the semi-transparent surface of a bubble. He was floating, which didn't help his current panicked state. "We're going to crash!"

' _Wake me up when it's all over_ ,' Tempest thought, closing his eyes again.

"How do you control these things?"

"I don't think you do!"

The others burst into hysterics. Then it all stopped. There was a whole lot of nothing for a few seconds.

Then the bubble burst and Tempest was suddenly wet. He spluttered in the water, using his wing to propel him up. He wasn't one to swim, so he thought of it like flying.

Percy was helping the others onto a life buoy while Tempest leaped out of the water into the air. A shark was circling Percy.

"Beat it," the boy told it, clearly not in the mood for this. The shark darted away. He turned to Tempest.

"We need to have a little chat with someone." He told the Armonian simply.

_|-w-|_

Tempest flew himself to the shore, the others were picked up by the coastal guard. He meant them at the pier with towels draped over their shoulders and water bottles. Tempest himself had dried himself using a little Fire spell and a little aerial maneuvering that he wouldn't be attempting again anytime soon.

He followed them onto the beach. Grover was comforting Percy, most likely from what he couldn't do.

"I don't believe it. We went all that way-" Annabeth started.

"It was a trick." Percy said, voice devoid of emotion, "A strategy worthy of Athena."

"Hey," Annabeth warned.

"Guys," Tempest said, completely disinterested in this little spat.

"Sorry, but you get it, don't you?"

"Yeah, I get it."

"Well, I don't!" Grover suddenly shouted, "Would some-"

"Don't," Tempest coldly shut him up. "Now's not the time."

"Percy… I'm sorry about your mother. I'm so sorry."

"The prophecy was right. 'You shall face the god who has turned'. But it wasn't Hades. Hades didn't want the war among the Big Three. Someone else pulled off the theft. Someone stole Zeus' master bolt, and Poseidon will get blamed by both sides. By sundown today, there will be a three-way war. And I'll have caused it."

"But who would be that sneaky? Who would want a war that bad?"

' _Alliteration_.' Percy stopped mid-step.

"Gee, let me think," Percy said sarcastically, looking down at the beach below them. It was a familiar biker with a metal bat propped on his shoulder.

"Hey, kid," Ares sneered, looking genuinely pleased to see Percy, "You were supposed to die."

"You tricked me," Percy said, making Tempest flinch. He was the only one who could _see_ the magic used on the backpack, and he failed to relay that to the others. " _You_ stole the helm and the master bolt."

"And I didn't even notice," Tempest muttered dejectedly.

"It's not your fault," Annabeth said, watching on as Percy confronted the war god.

"I never said that is was…"

"You're giving the notion that is was."

"If I just noticed, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Don't kick yourself down so much," Grover cut in, "Everything will be fine in the end, right?"

"In the future, yes. The past? You'll need a time machine." Tempest said cryptically.

"Where were you before you came to camp anyways?" Annabeth asked, "All I got from you was a cryptic answer and a finger to the sky. I refuse to believe you're an alien, by the way."

"I-I don't think this is the time," Tempest admitted, frustrating Annabeth.

"The helm of darkness," Grover spouted, after seeing the helmet on Ares' motorcycle handle.

Ares continued to rant about war and sure, so much so that it made Tempest think he was under brain control or something.

Then the god went into a trance. That sort of ticked him off. Sort of.

More yapping. More this or that… then a fight breaks out with Ares summoning his pet boar and the Heartless surrounding the others.

"Damn!" Tempest growled, calling out his Keyblade and unsheathing the bronze blade. Annabeth got into a fighting position and Grover just hid in the middle of the two.

"What are these again?"

"Heartless. Strike fast, not deep!"

"I want an explanation about everything after this!"

"Fine! If we don't die, that is." Tempest demolished half of the forces with an Asure Fira spell only to have an Air Soldier latch onto his face.

"ACK!"

"GET OFF!" Grover stomped on the Heartless, effectively dissipating the creature while stepping on Tempest's snout. "Sorry!"

"It's fine!" Tempest said, kicking a Mega Shadow away with his feet before springing back up. "Blizzard!"

He pushed the other two out of the ring of Heartless. "Go help Percy!" was his command before being buried by the dark beasts.

"Tempest!"

Said Armonian bursts up without his armour on and glider equipped with a scowl on his face. A pillar of Heartless followed him in the air, constantly being blasted away with Fire-based spells.

The other two, now reassured of his safe, go to Percy's aid.

Tempest dived head first into the pillar, summoning Chris' Keyblade as a nose to plow through the swarm. The Shadows all fall onto the ground, swarming to recreate the pillar.

"Not so fast!" Tempest declared, lighting Chris' Keyblade on fire before flinging it at the growing mound of Heartless, burning the rest of them.

He lands back onto the ground, only to collapse face first onto the ground, the adrenaline wearing off fast.

A bright light catches his attention, only for it to die away before anything could happen.

"H-hey," Grover said, crouching over an unmasked Tempest. "You okay?"

"Just great," Tempest weakly joked, flipping his hood on. "Just really tired. Gimme a sec."

Percy and Annabeth approached him, one leaning down and patting his head.

"Huh, fluffy," Percy remarked.

"What the heck," Tempest said, mildly annoyed as Percy continued to pat him.

"Percy," Annabeth facepalmed, "That's wrong on so many levels." Tempest, regaining some energy, batted the boy's hand away.

"We have the bolt, now what?" Tempest asked, still on the ground.

"We have to get to New York," Percy declared, "By tonight."

"You're insane."

"Says the lizard man,"

"I'm a _dragon_."

"If we are to get there by tonight, then we'd have to-" Annabeth cut in.

"Fly. Planes." Percy confirmed.

"Which is suicide for a son of Poseidon," Annabeth stated. "And you're carrying a weapon that has more destructive force power than a nuclear bomb."

"Which is stupid," Tempest said, putting a hand on the side of his head. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. I'm sure."

_|-w-|_

After some acting from Percy's part, they raised enough for three people. Tempest had to use some of his own munny to pay for his seat, which he begrudgingly gave.

They filed into the plane and took to their seats. Annabeth immediately started talking with Tempest, picking up the topic of where he was from.

"I'm technically not allowed to tell you where I came from, so I thought just pointing at the sky would be enough to stop you from asking..." Tempest admitted, putting a hand on his neck. He was wearing his armour again as it made him feel a little bit better around people. "So I'll just give you an abridged version so you don't go insane or something…"

"Why would I go insane just because of some knowledge? I don't like people underestimating me."

"Well, just don't go telling everyone, or a Keyblade Master is going to come to get me."

"Okay. Fine. Just tell me already."

"Let's start with this world," Tempest took out a new leatherbound notebook and opened it to the first page. He drew a small circle in the bottom left corner, labelling it 'here'. "This world is what is called an Outer World. Keyblade Wielders, what people who carry Keyblades like me are called, rarely visit these worlds because of their closeness to the border Darkness. Even though they are supposed to protect all worlds."

He coloured the edges of the page greyish black with the words 'darkness' written in it.

"So, why is the Darkness so bad?" Annabeth asked.

"You're asking me if poison is a cure." Tempest deadpanned. "It's what Heartless are made of, Darkness and the Heart. T-the metaphorical heart that is. Everyone has one. Think of it as a combination of Light and Darkness."

"You're a horrible teacher."

"I know… Anyways, there's also the Inner Worlds and the Core Worlds. The Core Worlds are made up of worlds that are inhabited by the Seven Princess of Light. I don't know what they do, so don't ask. The Inner Worlds are usually safer since they are closer to the centre of light. But most are being swallowed by darkness nowadays." He drew in his descriptions, crossing out some Inner Worlds.

"I've been commanded by my...Master to find some scraps of paper."

"Isn't your job to protect?"

"It is, but there's another Keyblade wielder somewhere doing to job for me, so yeah. Any problems other than my really messy explanation?"

"Is there a difference between Outer Worlds and Inner/Core Worlds?"

"Well… Outer Worlds are usually more complicated, sometimes having more than just one dimension, different planets or just straight up being a whole universe with an infinite amount of planets being generated. I also should mention the Core World. It's actually really unique, being it has only one dimension and is constantly covered in a powerful veil that blocks it off from the rest of Gummi space."

"Okay…" Annabeth went quiet for a few moments, taking in the new information. "Tell me more about the Keyblades."

"Keyblade users are meant to maintain the balance between light and darkness. Each blade is unique for each Keybearer. Well, the first blade that is. The blades can transform into different forms like what is called a 'Keyblade Glider'. It's basically elaborate space faring devices, like my wings or a hoverboard to name a few."

"What about that magic you constantly use?"

"Oh, that. It's just a tool. Normal people can learn it too, but there's a steep learning curve for people who aren't Keybearers or aren't exposed to other worlds. And no, I'm not bringing you anywhere."

"Okay...let me think about all this…"

"Alright." Tempest hesitantly said, hoping nothing bad will come of this conversation. He closed the book and clicked the pen closed. He shoves it back into the ether with his katana blade. Metal detectors are such a pain.

They sat in silence for the rest of the flight, somewhere along the way Tempest fell asleep.

_|-w-|_

Annabeth had lured away the reporters, allowing to others to fetch their things at the baggage claim. It was a relief to see Annabeth up and doing things after that conversation. Tempest fully expected for her to go insane after the bomb he just dropped on her. Or maybe she's just hiding it… nah. She even came over and reassured him that nothing bad happened from it.

They split up at the taxi station, Tempest deciding to follow Percy to the Empire State building.

"Protection" was his excuse. They got off at the front doors, walking inside the building.

"I'll wait on the ground floor," Tempest told Percy, who nodded. Tempest found a place to stand.

Percy approached the guard at the front desk and said, "Six hundredth floor."

"No such floor, kid."

"I need an audience with Zeus."

"Sorry?"

"You heard me."

A moment of silence. Percy looked ready to book it.

"No appointment, no audience, kiddo. Lord Zeus doesn't see anyone unannounced."

"Oh, I think he'll make an exception." Percy slipped off the backpack, unzipped it and allowed the guard to take a look. The guard paled at the sight of the master bolt.

"That isn't…"

"Yes, it is. You want me to take it out and-"

"No! No!" The guard jerked back into his seat, opened a drawer and hastily passed a keycard to Percy. "Insert this in the security slot. Make sure nobody else is in the elevator with you."

Percy waved to Tempest before entering an elevator. The guard seemed to relax after the conversation, walking out of the hall into a side room. No one was in the hall anymore, just Tempest.

He left the spot he was standing, walking over to the large plate depicting the tower in all its glory. It was emitting some magic, the stuff flowing out of it like a leaky pipe.

' _Are you what I think you are…?_ ' Tempest wondered, taking another look around to confirm he was alone.

Taking a wide stance, he summoned the serpent-headed Keyblade in his right hand, it's tip pointed at the plate. The wind roared to life around him, time in the room seemingly freezing as a keyhole-like a shape formed on the metal plate.

Tempest had to put his other hand on the blade to keep it steady as it shot a beam of light into the keyhole's void-like interior.

The keyhole then burst with light, the wind dying and time seemed to continue. The keyblade tip dropped to the ground, a keychain popping out of the fading keyhole.

He let the keyblade return to the ether and picked up the keychain.

' _I didn't know they were created this way…_ ' Tempest thought, awestruck. The keychain looked like it was made of casted brass, a trident positioned over a shield with a tiny set of reed pipes beside it.

Hearing the guard come back, he dismissed the blade and shoved the chain into the pocket. As the guard took a seat in the chair just as Tempest exited the building.

He would wait outside.

.

.

.

Tempest got bored. So food was an acceptable distraction. When Percy returned in a daze, he was holding a sandwich. The boy dragged Tempest to his mom's house, for some reason.

"Are you sure about this?" Tempest asked, standing in the hallway. Percy rang the doorbell.

"Yeah," Percy said, "She's pretty friendly." The door flew open and a women smelling of sweets darted out and crushed Percy in a hug.

"Percy! Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my baby." Tempest just stepped a little farther to give them space. She started crying, making Tempest more uncomfortable with the situation.

They swapped stories, all of it including the Heartless incidents.

She turned to Tempest and thanked him.

"U-uh, n-no problem," Tempest said, flustered. Percy walked over and flipped up his helmet without his permission. "Hey!"

"He's a lizard too, as an added bonus," Percy added cheerfully.

"I'm a dragon! Get it right!"

"Where're your wings then? How about your tail?"

"I-I, pffft, I don't know!"

After the little fiasco, he introduced him to Sally. She took note of his lack of a last name.

"...I'm an orphan. No one wants a child that looked like a demon back where I came from."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"No, it's fine. I'm over it. Found someone who did except me, so it's all fine now."

Before anything else could be said, a gruff voice exited the apartment door.

"Hey, Sally! That meatloaf is done yet or what?" Percy gritted his teeth upon hearing that voice.

' _Some history…_ '

"He isn't going to be happy to see you, Percy. The store got half a million phone calls today from Los Angeles… something about free appliances."

"Oh, yeah… about that…"

"Just don't make him angrier, all right? Come on."

"I think I'll think right here," Tempest said before turning to Percy, "I'll meet you downstairs."

Percy gave him a thumbs up before entering the apartment room. True to his word, Tempest descended down the stairs and waited for the boy there.

He leaned against the wall and flipped open the old journal.

 **Entry #14**

Xehanort has a thing for these Outer Worlds. They all seem darker than any of the Core Worlds and much bigger. And have weirder rules and… interesting things their world revolves around. Things like card games and giant space cats or just… cats in general. I wonder what stories I can accumulate in my travels…

 **Entry #15**

Murderer. Pink murderer. I don't know anymore. This world is _weird_. Really really random, pink blood.

 **Entry #16**

Someone got trigger happy and turned a bunch of angels to stone. We didn't stay there for long, just took some stone samples and ditched the place. That place was loaded with darkness, only a speck of light remained. It was a heart, but Xehanort dragged me away before I could do anything stupid.

On the bright side, Xehanort did show me a beautiful sunset in a new world. An island. He did leave me there for a reason, saying he had other stuff to do.

I didn't argue with him, after all, that place was quite calming. Maybe I'll visit it again in the future.

 **Entry #17**

Training is stupidly hard. Or is it the fact I'm more attuned to Wind magic then Fire? I don't know! I don't care! I want to burn stuff… ok, that sounds wrong…. Ah, whatever.

Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I better do something productive before Xehanort starts scolding me again for being lazy.

 **Saki`s Letters #5**

Dear Chris,

I LEARNED FIRE, I WILL NOW BURN MOUNTAINS TO IT'S PLACE AHAHAHAHAH! _Saki, fire is the weakest of all fire spells._ I don't care. Kage learned Sleep…[it's dumb] well that's it! I'll get you caught up on our side! That is if you're getting these...

Saki

Hearing the footsteps running down the stairs, he closed the journal with a hollow _clap_. He smiled sadly under his helmet.

' _Guess my time here is over…_ '

* * *

 **Edit: I'M FUKING SCREAMING. HAVE YOU SEEN THAT NEW TRAILER? _AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-_**

 **"mmmm, no. I'm taking over for the time being.**

 **So Storm is having a mental break down, so I, Tempest, will have to take over for the time being."**

 ***Crash***

 **"He's also throwing things... Anyways, the Final battle trailer came out and Storm cannot handle a little bit of screaming"**

 **IT WASN'T JUST ANYONE! IT WAS-**

 **"NO, SHUT UP. Good.**

 **So, I'm going to solve this mess. Have a nice day, wait for the next chapter for replies."**

 **-Tempest**


	10. Chapter 9: A Final Farewell

Chapter 9

A Final Farewell

"Woah, Woah, Woah…" Percy stood up, "What do you mean you're leaving?"

"I didn't think you would be this stupid, Salt Breath," Tempest said, not amused, "I said I was leaving."

"Well, where are you going?" Percy said, crossing his arms. Tempest shrugged with his arms crossed.

"Confidential." He said. He let out a sigh just as Percy was about to blow up. "Seriously though, I can't tell you. But I can promise to visit."

"You'd probably should or Percy will run around the globe looking for you." Grover chuckled nervously, eyes closed and a hand on his neck. Annabeth sat in the back, fiddling with a bottle.

"So, when are you leaving?" Percy asked, calmed down a bit.

"Oh, I don't know," Tempest shrugged, flipping down his helmet, "The middle of the night?... By the way, isn't it almost bedtime?"

Percy turned to look at the clock before running out of the house, exclaiming "Oh shoot!" As he exited the building in a hurry.

"H-hey! Percy!" Grover went with him, leaving Tempest and Annabeth alone.

"I already explained what the contents of that bottle does. It's a precaution." Tempest told Annabeth as she got up.

"I know that, Armour face." She said, making Tempest flinch at the nickname.

"Heh, yeah. Don't break it," he said just as Annabeth left the room. Chiron caught before it could close completely.

"I thought I would find you here," the old centaur said with a smile, "It's an honour to house a Keybearer in this camp."

"It's no secret, is it anymore?" Tempest snorted good-naturedly. "I assume you know that I'm leaving?"

"Indeed," Something flew through the air, which Tempest caught. Taking a look, he discovered the object was a clay bead with a trident carved into its surface and inked a navy blue.

"Keep it," Chiron said just before Tempest could respond. "A memento of your time here."

"...Thanks," Tempest said, untying the knot on Chris' old pendant and slipping it onto the bare side of the metal dragon.

"I believe now is time to leave. I would be wary of the harpies when you exit the building." Chiron said.

"Gotcha," Tempest said, pushing open the door.

"Farwell," And he exited the building, as was now on the porch.

He remembered that day when he had brought those two onto the porch and how he thought he was going to regret that decision.

'I guess I was wrong,' He mused silently, stepping out onto the grass. The stars were shining that night, the sky clear with no trace of a coming war.

Slipping on the pendant, he donned his wings, the silvery feathers spreading open as he bent down.

If one were to look, it would look like a comet took off from earth, its tail a silver colour as it broke the sound barrier and rocketed into space. Soon it was nothing but another star in the sky, though unwavering in its goal.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm going to use this sorry excuse of a chapter to clear some things up. But first:**

 **-dragora7747: Thank you for the review! Some of Chris' diary entries will have references to either future worlds or just little cameos. As for where this story will go... read on if you will.**

 **Now, back to the topic on hand.**

 **I already have the next world planned but I'm still uncertain about how it will be received. After all, the book turned movie I will be using for the next world isn't very well known. So, I hope to don't take the next world too badly.**

 **Also, I will be moving this fic from KHxPJO to KHx x-overs. Hope you guys don't mind.**

 **Do you guys want a name?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Okay, just a hint.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 _ **OWLS**_

 _ **"**_ **What the _Honest fu-_ "**

 **~Storm**

 **p.s. chrisissuperimmaturewhenleavingmessagestohimself.**


	11. Chapter 10: Broadening Horizons

**Warning: Chris and Tempest swear a little in this chappy, but, hey, what's new? Just a heads up so it's not so jarring.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own KH or Legend of the Guardians, the Owls of Ga'hoole. They belong to their respective companies and people. Orignal characters still belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter 10

Broadening Horizons

Tempest needed a map. Badly. Interstellar travel was more confusing then… anything really.

He leaped up from a higher roof and started gliding. He hasn't had any luck finding a map store as the places had either too many people or it just wasn't open. The best thing he found was a thing called a navigation gummi, but it didn't look compatible with his armour or HUB. So the second best option was to download the map from the gummi, or in this case, the gummi ship itself.

Tempest slipped into a rooftop vent and into the garage like space for the ship. Taking off his helmet and prying the back panel off, he found a spare wire and started looking for the mainframe for the ship.

"Gotcha," He smirked, finding a loose block at the back of the multi-coloured ship. Slowly shifting it out, he plugged the cord into the uncovered plug and slowly went through all the data. He was no wiz at computers, but he didn't suck enough to crush it into oblivion.

As soon as he found the maps, he duplicated the data and transferred the newly copied data into his helmet. Just in the nick of time too, as someone was entering the garage, their footsteps making the metal floor worble.

Tempest hastily replaced the block and leaped up to the vent, helmet under his arm as he slipped out of sight.

' _Too close, way too close…_ ' He panted, climbing out of the vent and back onto the roof. He could hear shouting from the vent, probably out of concern that he had done something to the ship.

Letting out a strangled sigh, Tempest slipped the helmet back on and turned on the HUB. The visor lit up with a new blurb at the left of his screen.

' _Wow, self-learning…_ ' Tempest snorted, remembering the huge speech Chris gave when he started talking about the panther blacksmith friend.

 _Back then, he just wouldn't shut up about his 'Magnum Opus'. It was away 'Magnum Opus' this, 'Magnum Opus' that. Hell, he even asked me to help him solder some wires together just because he wasn't precise enough. Kage was really, really devoted in his work, especially that armour over there. He did follow some premade plans, but they were only how the software should be written and how the pauldron would be used as a doorbell of sorts. Everything else was him._

'... _I still wish you hadn't left…_ '

He sighed, holding back tears, and went back to the minimap. It only had a few worlds on it, each with a premade name and an icon an logo. It seemed that gummi ships were highly limited with travel routes, having to go through several worlds to get to a farther one.

' _Not very helpful…_ ' Tempest breathed, feeling a little underwhelmed. He switched the HUB off and took off the helmet, staring up at the starry sky.

' _Which one out there is home?_ '

He listened to the muffled shouts that came out of the vent, the quiet murmurs of the streets and the general peacefulness of the place.

Tempest got up from his position on the roof, willing the helmet away before sliding down the tiles. Just before he would fall off, he launched himself into the sky with his glider suddenly appearing on his back in a shower of silver coloured sparks.

"Mommy! Pretty bird!" He could hear faintly from below.

"Yes, sweety, a Phoenix," Tempest flew to the first district before donning his armour and shooting off into the sky once again, this time with a better sense of direction. Hopefully.

_|-w-|_

 **Saki's Letters #25**

Hey there Chris,

Sooo, Saki's crying in the corner… that's a thing that's happening. I don't know how to put this buuttt, Old grandpa got two kids… that's it. I don't know why Saki's crying like a child (or baby) but now two little children are running around the castle which is fully equipped to accidentally murder them. Apparently, they both have potential and even though one of us (me, you and Saki) is supposed to become Master of the castle, grandpa wants a human Master. He went out of his way to tell me that he's not pushing us aside, he just finds us… immature sometimes. He seems to think you're dead. I dunno how mature you are but now we have two kids to take care of because Eraqus can do it himself. Their names are Terra, a reckless little child that is extremely energetic, and Aqua, quiet and likes reading your old history books. Saki's supposed to watch over Aqua, but I watch both of them mostly. Cuz Saki does jack shit after those two came. P.S. I gave u a photo of them cuz why not? Really, why not.

Kage

Kage was wearing a new outfit consisting of a thin, red checkered jacket with one sleeve rolled up, beige khakis, a new black headband with the same strange emblem on it and new brown fingerless gloves. The same tailband is still wrapped around the panther's tail, shining in the morning light. He seems taller than before.

Saki was also sporting a new look, her hooded jacket now fur lined but still sea blue coloured. A tan coloured v-neck is worn over a white shirt. Why v-necks, Tempest will never know or understand. She's also wearing grey sweatpants and grey coloured sneakers. (Tempest will never understand the need for sneakers. Never). She looked like she's in denial, with her forehead pressed against the wall and her eyes squeezed shut.

The boy, who Tempest assumes is Terra, is on Kage's shoulders with quite a few bandages on him. He looks to be around ten years old, wearing a dark grey t-shirt and tan cargo shorts and waving his arms around and seeming to cheer excitedly in the photo.

Aqua, the girl in the photo, is much calmer in demeanour, standing there with her nose buried in an old history book with the title of History of the One World Gods with a Keyblade looking thing stamped in gold leaf.

They're standing in a town, not Traverse or Twilight, some unknown town with wisps of clouds hanging over the building. It honestly looks like a family photo set in a peaceful place.

_|-w-|_

Tempest was naturally attracted to the Outer Worlds. Or that the Inner Worlds are just boring as heck. He didn't even use the map that he had painstakingly downloaded, which peeved him off a little but he had to cut his losses.

He zipped through a donut-shaped unprocessed gummi material, dodging the random pieces of rocks and other things like metal sheets and stuffed animals. Trinkets like pocket watches and technologically advanced tablets floated in space. If one were to travel in a vehicle or at faster speeds, you wouldn't be able to pick out the little dots of silver or brown that zoomed through space.

He stopped as soon as three different worlds appeared on the minimap, the thing starting to beep after a few minutes of silence. Tempest slowed down just before he could be caught into the field of the entrance.

' _Whatever,_ ' He shrugged. He wasn't in the mood for analyzing stuff, so diving for a random one is a perfectly viable option. It wasn't like the left world would be terrible… right?

_|-w-|_

Was the left world a bad idea? No, not remotely. Does Tempest have a problem with landing on his feet? Yes, probably. Does he have a record of fainting without a warning? Okay, no, but he did get knocked out once by that _stupid freaking Wyvern_. That time wasn't fair either, he had used up all him _bloody mana_ to kill the stupid thing, and mana exhaustion is not a fun thing to deal with!

* _Beep_ *

"If you're listening to this recording, you done fucked up! Welcome to the world where you are more likely to get mauled by the wild animals then get kid-excuse me- _owl_ -napped. Welcome back to, wait for it, the Hoolian Kingdom! Have fun and try not to get brainwashed. Also, look at that _ass._"

* _Beep_ *

.

.

.

' _What. The. Honest._ Fu-'

.

.

.

"Holy shit, he wasn't kidding."

A feeling of dread washed over him as he lifted his head to looked a red fox dead in the eyes. It snarled hungrily as it stared Tempest down as if it were thinking how best to murder his newly transformed bird butt. Which it probably was.

"Hahaha...I'm going to die here, aren't I?" He laughed nervously. The fox just stared Tempest down, panting.

In a split second decision, Tempest half hopped, half ran towards the nearest tree and started desperately clawing his way up.

The fox just stayed down on the ground, occasionally jumping up to try and bit his tail feathers.

Tempest scrambled onto a low lying branch, just high enough for the fox to lose interest and leave. Now the problem was getting out of this place without _dieing_. Who knows what the scuffle attracted.

' _No tree climbing little crap nuggets...please no…_ ' He prayed, shrinking down into his newly acquired feathers.

Something rustled from above, making a few leaves fall from the tree.

' _Oh shit, oh shit, oh no no nono-_ '

"Ha! Gotcha, little bugger!" A brown and grey blur dropped down from above, a talon clasping around his head and one around his body. Any breath left in him was squeezed out.

"Nap time!" A sickeningly cheerful voice announced. Something happened, and Tempest just stops fighting right there.

_|-w-|_

Tempest couldn't tell how long had passed since he woke up, only the sensation of being blind and having powerful claws holding him still. The air smelt of feathers and humidity, the sounds lazy wingbeats surrounding him.

"Whatcha got there, Cron?"

"Just another Tyto. A reckless one too, found 'im taking on a great fox all by 'imself! He even tried to claw my eyes out!"

' _Well, that explains the blindfold, and why I feel so tired._ ' Tempest breathed. He probably went berserk again, for a longer time too.

"Oooo, scary~"

"Hey guys!" A new voice appears out of the blue.

"Ho boy! Another little bugger." He felt his abductor spin around in apparent joy.

"Yeah!"

"You betcha!"

"Let me go!" A young sounding voice cuts through the excited hoots.

"Ouch!" Something drops, making a whistling sound as it fell.

"Argh, damnit." The other owl seemingly dives after the abducted owlet before flying back up again with the struggling owl apparently in their grasp.

The two new additions to the already large crowd stay talkative for hours on end. Even if Tempest couldn't see, he could still listen even if they were just talking about intimidating stares.

At some point he had fallen asleep, totally oblivious to the indignant shouting that was currently happening.

.

.

.

Next time he woke up, it was blisteringly hot and he was still blindfolded. It seemed that a day had passed, but it was impossible to confirm. There was, however, a several new presences nearby. Tempest could faintly 'see' their hearts, or what he assumed the faintly flickering lights were. All the new lights seemed to be more kidnapped owlets.

One of the larger owls drifted closer to the new one and two sets of conversations started.

"Oh, look, it's Grimble!"

"Perfect timing hit 'em with the new look, Jutt."

"With or without the raised eyebrow?"

"With! With the raised eyebrow, you dimwit!"

"What Cron said!"

Tempest chose not to follow that conversation to its end. It wasn't going to end well in the numbskulls favour, that's for sure. The other, however...

"I'm Soren." He guesses that was one of the other two 'Tytos' that had joined the group soon after him.

"I'm Gylfie." That was the closest one to Tempest.

"He said you were an elf owl."

"From Kuneer. That's in the desert."

' _Well, that explains why it's so flipping hot…_ '

"Are you a Tyto?"

"Yeah, from Tyto forest…"

"Who are these owls? Do you have any idea where they're taking us?" The light weakened a bit. A shutter of movement.

"Hey! Stop talking." And everything returned to quiet.

Tempest's carrier dove around some spires, under arches and into a cave. The air steadily grew colder as they entered, the day wasting away. His carrier slowed down as he descended, as though he was going to be placed on the ground.

"Gah!" Instead, he was unceremoniously tossed onto the stone floor.

"If you want to keep your sanity, do not take off that blindfold." Someone whispered to him, taking off right after. Before Tempest could ask who that was, someone started talking.

"Your parents and families have abandoned you, so from now on, you'll be classified as Orphans. Horribly tragic I know. But by the mercy of Glaux, you have been rescued by the owls of St. Aegolius. So you will be repaying them, with Labour! Some of you will be soldiers, others… Pickers! In all your ways, you will serve the Lord High Tyto and the Pure Ones!"

"I don't want to be a picker!"

"Who are the Pure Ones?!"

"Let us go!"

"We won't serve the Pure Ones!"

"Silence!"

A chorus of protests rang out as the announcer struggled to silence them. A shrill cry that sounded like an eagle quieted the crowd.

Metallic clanks rang out.

"I am Nyra, ablah General of St. Aegolius and Mate of the Lord High Tyto." A grand, female voice echoed throughout the cavern, full of strength. "I know right now you miss your families, but soon enough you will understand the Pure Ones are your new family."

"The Pure One are not our family!"

"Let us go!"

"She's right, let us go!"

"Oh? What's this?" Claws tapped against the stone floor, approaching a hyperventilating owl. "Tyto, don't waste your time. Don't soil your feathers."

"You leave her be."

"Oh, a spirited little Tyto. How touching. You and your patch of felt will stay together then." A pause, "As _pickers_!"

"Let's go, hurry up." The two were pushed along, protesting.

"Perhaps," Nyra said, "when you remember your nobility, Tyto, we can make a soldier of you."

"Come on."

"What, what about my brother?" Soren said.

"Oh? Where's he?" Nyra asked.

"Kludd." A sharp intake of air as Nyra turned.

"Owlet, that one says you're his brother," She stated, "Would you like to join him?"

Nothing made a noise.

"I didn't think so." Tempest assumed that Kludd had shaken his head.

"Kludd?"

"Here we go. Move along, move it along."

"Kludd!" The two were pushed away, their cries fading away.

"Now, there's a soldier," Nyra said, half tauntingly.

The Pickers and the Soldiers were then separated, the majority being forced down the same corridor Soren and Gylfie were pushed down.

"My, my. What's with this cloth?" Powerful claws gripped the blindfold and tearing the cloth away. Tempest recoiled at the dim light after being the dark for so long. As soon as he blinked away the blindness, he looked up at the white form of what he assumed was Nyra. "You look capable. You shall be a Soldier. Take him away!"

With a flicker of her head, she summoned a masked owl with its face hidden by its helmet, only its glowing yellow eyes visible. It remained silent as it picked him up and carried him away.

Knowing that he was in enemy territory and that the heartless didn't seem to harm him, Tempest didn't fight back, letting the possessed owl carry him into an isolated hole in the side of a wall. As soon as he was shoved in, a wooden door blocked his entrance. This did not, however, leave him in pure darkness again, as there was a window letting in a sliver of sunlight. The sound of marching owls

The ground was covered in a thick layer of feathers, moss and other soft plant materials.

The message was clear, the bedding, the waning moon. _Tomorrow, everything starts_.

_|-w-|_

Tempest had fallen asleep spread eagle on the bedding after he clogged up the window. With a grunt, he pulled out the moss from the hole in the wall, letting the dimming sunlight pour in.

"Mmm, it's early… for them…" He mumbled, rubbing his face with the edge of his feathered wing.

From what he could tell, this world was inhabited mostly by owls. There were the Pure Ones, the heartless with the masks and looked like possessed owls.

' _Maybe there's just been an abundance of Possessors lately.._ ' Tempest mused. Before he could think about it more, the wooden door flew open and a masked Pure One dove into the hole, pinning Tempest to the ground before dragging him out once again.

It wasn't long before he was dropped off into a room. He had at least landed on his feet this time, the first time after getting trapped in this bird body, which he wasn't really accustomed to.

Looking over the edge of the open floor, the smell of stomach acid and mouse fur struck his nose. Owls were down there, slowly picking apart owl pellets mechanically. Tempest looked away, slightly disgusted by the sight of slavery.

Soon, several other owls were transported to the same mostly floorless room, all of the barn owls or Tytos as most the other owls called them.

' _Uhhh…ok? White supremacy much?_ ' Tempest thought, acknowledging that if Chris heard that, he would probably have a swarm of spectral Unversed on his butt.

Tempest didn't recognize any of the other owls, partly because he had a blindfold during the separating between the Pickers and the Soldiers. The other was because none of them spoke, as Nyra entered before anything else could happen. She landed on the spire that jutted up from the lower floor.

Taking a look down, the white owl started talking. "You mustn't feel sorry for them down there. As lower species, they are fortunate to serve a higher cause. As Tyto owls, their natural superiors.. You too are part of that plan. One that will soon bring order to all the owl kingdoms... When the Pure Ones will rule. A new and noble era will down. Now, prove your greatness… and rise!"

All the other owls took a look at each other, some in confusion, others in silent competition.

Tempest was just plain confused. Sure, he knew how to fly, but that was with his glider which he wasn't using right now so not to draw attention. Also so not to provoke the boss woman of all the Heartless around St. Aggies'.

Following the owl beside him, Tempest opened his wings and used his feet to launch himself into the air before starting to flap. He struggled to gain air, testing different wing positions and timings as he went.

"Higher!"

' _And here is the reason I like jumping off of ledges to start._ '

"Higher!"

One by one, tired owls dropped out of the air, laying on the stone ledge whilst panting. Tempest had managed to outlast them, ceasing to flap and landing quietly on the ground. What he didn't want to happen, happened.

"Well now," Nyra was eyeing Tempest in interest now, yellow irises focusing on him. "I see we already have a warrior among us."

' _Crap, crap, crap!_ ' He was now internally sweating in fear. That was not a comfortable thing.

"You might think that you have impressed me, but to do that, you'd have to try harder," She stopped staring, instead motioning for one of her two guards to fetch something for her. It left without a sound, soon returning with a thorny bramble cage, a single bluebird encased in it.

"Now, the best of you… the fittest and the most brilliant, I will present to the Lord High Tyto. So, let's see how much you've improved…"

In a single, fluid motion, Nyra flipped open the cage and snatched the bluebird, watching it as it chirped in alarm. She waited for the tired owls to regain their strength.

"As fliers…" She lets the bluebird go, Tempest and all the other owls turning to stare at it as it flew off down the corridor. "As fighters."

Everyone turned to look at Nyra, waiting for permission to chase.

"Well?" Tempest, playing along with everyone else, launched himself off the ground and glided through the corridor filled with crimson red banners lining the walls. Two owls were ahead of him, duking it out over the bluebird right in front of them. The other

Spotting a tunnel covered mostly by a banner, Tempest took this chance to escape, tucking in his wings to fit through. No one announced his exit, which he was thankful for. Nyra probably didn't count the number of owls she was testing, so losing one wasn't really apparent...right?

Right as the tunnel opened up into a larger room, he spread his wings to slow his decent, stumbling only a little as he landed.

Upon further inspection, this wasn't a room, rather, just a ledge of rock overlooking a long corridor filled with ledges and sticks. Oh, and more banners and dead owl skulls.

' _And this is what they call 'Decor'..._ '

There were three owls in the decorated hallway, one of them looking older than the others and with his feathers dyed white and red. He wasn't emanating darkness, like Nyra, instead, his heart was actively fighting it.

The other two was an elf owl, the small one with a brown coat spectacled with white. The other, a barn owl that sounded really familiar…

"No, more flap, deeper flap. The still air has no shape to use. You gotta compensate with your downstroke. Make your wing tips almost meet, if you can, without stalling," The elder owl commanded, demonstrating for the two as he flapped. The small one tried, flapping faster and harder only to drop down to the ground again.

"I can't curl my feathers enough, Grimble. My wings are too short," She complained, keeping her wings spread out. Grimble, the old owl, landed with a soft sigh.

"Aw, well, they say Lyze of Kiel's wings were short. And that didn't stop him, and your gonna need to fly a long way to get to the Guardians."

' _Lyze of what? What Guardians?_ '

"The Guardians of Ga'hoole?" The barn owl, whose voice confirmed him to be Soren, asked. He seemed to admire whoever these 'Guardians' were.

"Well, yeah," Grimble answered.

"But, how will we know where to go?"

"Well, you have to get to the sea of Hoolemere… yeah, where the Tree is shrouded in ancient mists…"

"Which keep it hidden from all but the strong of purpose and the true of heart," Soren finished.

"Yeah, exactly," A spike of darkness made Tempest spin his head towards the other side of the hallway. Nyra was entering, with an owl with maroon coloured feathers and several bloodstained streaks on his face. "I'd come with you, but I still hold out the hope of freeing my family."

"Really," Nyra asked, mockingly. Soren's face lit up in recognition at the other barn owl.

"Kludd." He gasped. Grimble held out a wing, blocking Nyra from killing the owlets.

"Go!"

"Kludd, come with us!"

"Go, now!"

"Get them!" Nyra commanded, the sound of wing beats closing in. Two owls shaped Heartless burst onto the scene, forcing Tempest to take action. But before he could intervene, the Pure One shells of the Heartless peeled off, leaving a black, formless shape flying through the air.

Soren took a look at the blobs, then back to his brother.

"Kludd!"

' _No time for words!_ ' Tempest called out his Keyblade, only for it to transform into something more appropriate for his current form.

"Heck? Nevermind," He shook off his confusion, flexing his feet and letting the razor blades shine in the light. The claws looked to be the teeth part of the key, while the leg guard as the shaft with three gold rings around it.

Wasting no more time, Tempest pushed himself off the ledge with his claws and soared right into the black blobs, knocking them off course.

"You!" Nyra glared at Tempest as he tore the blobs apart, letting them dissipate into black wisps. Before Nyra could tear him apart right then and there, Grimble headbutted her in the chest.

"Soren! We have to go!" The elf owl exclaimed.

"Wait," Soren stopped at the edge of the cliff, "Kludd, come on! Now's our chance!"

"Well, what are you waiting for, son? This is your chance to go home!" Grimble had Nyra pinned on the ground, the female shooting Kludd a pleading look, that to Tempest, looked like pure poison.

Darkness wrapped around Kludd, seeping into him. At that point, Tempest knew no pleading would bring him back.

"I am…" A flash of yellow in his eyes, a pained determined look crossing his face, "I am home!"

Tempest half hopped, half ran over to Soren and the elf owl.

"Eh? No…" Something happened, and several other Pure Ones entered the scene.

"Would you wound your queen, Grimble?!"

"You're...Not... My… Queen! Rah!"

"We need to jump now, Soren!"

"But-"

"Listen to your half-pint friend!" Tempest warned, taking a defensive stance with his wings spread and talons scraping the floor.

Soren reluctantly jumped off the ledge, the elf owl following him.

"Fire!" Tempest shot a blast of flame at the nearest Heartless before falling backwards off the cliff. Grimble was pushed off, Nyra still having a claw around his neck.

"Come on, Gylfie! Flap! Flap your wings!"

Two Pure Ones flew over to help their boss, to her displeasure.

"No!" She howled, "Follow the owlets! Follow the owlets! Go, you fools!"

In one thoughtless decision, Tempest used the remainder of his mana to light his wingtips with azure flames and spread them, launching an arch of blue fire up at his enemies before spinning around to start gliding forwards.

"Go!" Was the start of Grimble's final words, "Go! Tell the Guardians!"

Nyra breaks Grimble's wings, tossing his limp body down into the chasm before letting out a blood-curdling screech and made chase.

Tempest ducked between sandy stone spires and arches while following Gylfie and Soren, seeing the room shrink in width and height. Soon, it looked like a dead end.

"Look! There! I see a way out!" Soren motioned towards a sliver of light at the end of the hall.

"Where? Ah!" Soren had tucked his wings in, shooting towards the tiny hole. Gylfie reacted in a panic, folding her wings in and following Soren with pure instinct.

Tempest just did something, falling through the hole with them, hearing the deadly scrap of the armoured talons of the Pure Ones on the stone.

"That was close…" Tempest huffed, "Way too close…" He gained on the other two owlets.

"Gylfie, come on, follow me! Faster, Gylfie, faster!" Soren shouted, yelling into the mist.

"If you think the Pure Ones are on your tail, think again," Tempest said, off to Soren's left.

"Wha- Who's there?" Soren asked, now on high alert.

"Oh, just me," Tempest answered, flying into view. He had dismissed his Keyblade, the metal talons disappearing in a burst of flames.

"You're the owl who fought off the Pure Ones!" Gylfie exclaimed.

"Less owl and more drake…" Tempest mumbled dejectedly, too quiet for the two to hear.

"Why are you following us?" Soren asked.

"Hum?" Tempest hummed, "No real reason. You just remind me of someone."

Dark forms danced in the mist, the yellow flashes drawing Tempest's attention. He fell back, letting the other two take the lead.

"Hey, where are you going?" Gylfie was the one to ask that.

Tempest didn't answer, watching the yellow eyes. As soon as it got darker, the red more prominent, he took action, not caring if it was friend or foe.

"Thunder!" A streak of lightning zapped the Heartless, the form dissolving into mist.

"What was that?" Soren asked, "What were the black thing those owls turned into?"

"...I call them Heartless," Tempest told them with a solemn look, "Everyone else on this wo-... continent calls them 'Pure Ones' apparently."

"Gah!" A black dart flew out from the mist, disappearing immediately after.

"Gylfie!" Soren cried. Tempest dove over and caught the small owl in his claws, almost dropping her by accident.

"Looks like I missed one…" He said under his breath, "Sorry, I didn't make sure all of them were gone."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Gylfie said with a smile, "It's just a nick."

"Yeah, well. All wounds can be deadly if they get infected." Tempest said, turning Gylfie onto her side to get a look at the wound. "Huh, it's not the worst thing." He curled his talon around the leg, the claw glowing green as he casted Cure over it.

"T-thanks…"

"I don't have all my mana restored, so this will have to do for now." Gylfie wiggled out of Tempest's claws and started flying on her own again.

"Are you a Guardian?" Soren asked.

"What type?" Tempest raised a brow.

"A Guardian of Ga'hoole tree."

"No," Tempest shook his head, "Never heard of them either."

"What? That's impossible, every Tyto hears the stories. The Battle of the Ice Claws…"

"Sorry, I'm not 'every Tyto'."

"What are you then?"

Tempest circled around the other two, stopping at the front.

"You'll find out soon enough," He answered enigmatically.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm using the movie designs, which means that all the owl's eyes move like humans, have brighter browns and a flexible beak. For speaking reasons. Not the most accurate thing, but, hey, it works for me. Tempest's colouring is completely up to the reader's interpretation. Follow, review, whatever people do when reading these things.**

 **"Why didn't you warn me about his thing happening?"**

 **Technically, I did. You just didn't understand.**

 **"At least it wasn't more humans..."**

 **~Storm**


	12. Chapter 11: Bright Futures

**A/N: Since it's the new year for me, I thought I'd give you people something. Also because I have so many already completed chappys. So have fun. Plus, new musical themes.**

 **Kage + Saki + Chris: _Soldier_ , _Poet_ , _King_ by _The Oh Hellos_**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own KH or Guardians of Ga'hoole. They belong to their respective owners. My four characters still belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Bright Futures

After the adrenaline rush, Tempest's flying became sloppy, barely managing to stay afloat. He was flying behind the owls, to both hide his suddenly sloppy flying and to watch out for more Heartless beyond the thick mist.

Soren was looking for a place to land, a place to tend to Gylfie's wound and to rest up. For that to happen, the three of them were flying pretty low to the ground, even if the ground was barely visible.

"Hey…" Gylfie slowed down to fly beside Tempest, "We never go a name from you."

"Tempest," He supplied, looking up momentarily at the little owl.

"I'm Gylfie," She said, trading names.

"And I'm Soren," Said owl had slowed down too, flying by the opposite side of Tempest.

"Yeah, I know. I heard your introduction when Gylfie first appeared," Tempest told them, leaving the owls stunned, "I was the blindfolded owl. But I doubt you'd remember."

"Wait," Soren gave a confused look down, "You're the one who took on a great fox?"

"Less took on and more ambushed," Tempest sheepishly replied, looking away.

"A great fox?" Gylfie asked, confused, "Is it a large Fennec Fox?"

"A fennec fox?" Soren questioned, having no idea what that was.

"Mmmm…" Tempest hummed, focusing on his flying before answering, "More orange, more aggressive, and way bigger."

"Oh…" She gulped.

They fly in silence after that, with Gylfie constantly muttering something about no being able to see the stars.

Tempest was really ready to pop out that old, musty potion he got back on his last world on her leg. He didn't, as the conservative side of his brain said _no, bad_.

Soren suddenly slowed down, looking back at Tempest and Gylfie.

"Hey guys, are you hungry?" Soren asked out of the blue.

"Huh? Why?" Gylfie tilted her head

"Watch this."

Soren dove down, tucking in his wings. Right before he hit the ground, he spread his wings and stretched out his talons, snatching a moth off its grass-blade perch.

"Nice," Tempest congratulated, landing on the ground in front of Soren. Gylfie landed on an unearthed tree root behind them, with her injured leg held up.

"Hey!" A small owl jumped up from his hiding spot, his brown coat and overall presence suppression keeping him hidden from Tempest. The little owl cocked his head, looking at the moth in Soren's ha-claws. "Oh~, nice hunting. You should be really proud of yourself, catching a moth that's already been caught!"

The owl hopped around Soren accusingly.

"Wait… You hadn't caught it…" The barn owl stated.

"Mm! I was close! One might say I was _this_ close!" the owl stood up straight and looked Soren in the eyes with his talon raised up and claws making a space.

Soren let go of the still live moth in surprise, watching as it fluttered up and out of sight.

"Perfect," The owl sighed, dropping his talon.

"Ahem," Gylfie coughed, alerting the owl of her presence in the mist. He jumped up in shock before steeling his small body like they were about to assault him.

"An ambush!" he exclaimed, "Well, I bet you didn't count on this!"

He hopped back into his hiding place and started to fling dirt at Soren and Tempest, as though he were digging a hole. Tempest raised his wing to block most of the dirt, listening as pebbles and brown clumps bounced off his feathers.

"I'm sorry. We didn't mean to take your moth," Gylfie apologized, hopping off her tree root perch and onto the ground behind the larger owls.

"It wasn't his moth," Soren retorted, looking back at Gylfie. Just then, the owl popped his head up from his hidey hole.

"Yes, it was," he said back, before returning to throwing dirt and other natural objects at them.

"Look, we're sorry," Gylfie said, peeking out from behind Soren's wing, "We were just looking for a place to hide and rest."

The waves of flying dirt stopped and the owl looked out from the rim of the newly dug hole.

"In which order?"

"What do you mean?" She questioned, walking out from cover.

"Huge!" the owl exclaimed, jumping out of his burrow, "If you need to hide first, I'd say you were in big trouble. But if resting was on your mind, I'd say your situation wasn't as dire."

"If we were being chased, we wouldn't be speaking to you right now, half-pint," Tempest stated, bluntly, lowering his wing.

"Hey!" the owl shouted, "I prefer the name Digger, not half-pint!"

"Sure, squirt," Tempest drawled, making Digger fume at his words.

"We're on our way to the Sea of Hoolemere. We're gonna find the Guardians of Ga'hoole." Soren cut in, looking a little desperate as he pushed Tempest away with his wing.

"Really? Three owlets like you will never reach the sea," Digger said, giving Tempest the stink eye, "There are some really scary beats out that way!"

"Scary beasts?" Soren spoke the words like they were foreign. Digger nodded, turning around.

"If the Hawks don't make quick lunch of you, then the buzzards will. And if the buzzards don't get you... The black dingoes wait in the trees~and as you _fly by_ …"

"Look, half-pint," Tempest cut in, pushing Soren's wing away, "Our request is as Gylfie said, we need a place to rest and to tend to her wound. Do you have room?"

Digger leaned to the right to get a look at Gylfie, and upon seeing her, his face softened. He shook his body before reintroducing himself.

"Name's Digger. The hollow's this way," Digger gave Tempest a warning glare before hopping off to the right. Soren followed the hyperactive owl, Tempest and Gylfie close behind them.

"Going to the sea, huh?" Digger said as they were approaching a large, hollow oak, "You know what they call owls who fly towards the sea?"

"Uh, no." Soren and Gylfie answered simultaneously.

"Lost!" Digger finished for himself, letting Tempest groan at the god-awful joke, "It's hilarious. I have another one for you. What do you call an owl…?"

He stopped mid-line, hopping into the dark wood hollow.

"Twilight! We've got company!" He called out. The other three peered in, watching as Digger jumped down. A larger owl was in there too, wrestling with a purple-pink snake.

"Put me down this instant!" which talked. This was mildly uncomfortable for Tempest. "This is highly disrespectful!"

The large, grey owl, who Tempest assumed was named Twilight, pinned the snake under his talon.

"Dinner is served," He said, shooting the snake a glare, "And she will not stop _talking._ "

Soren jumped down, looking as if he recognized the serpent. He ducked under a branch inside the hollow.

"Mrs. P? Mrs. P! It's me, Soren!"

"Uhhh, do you know what's happening?" Tempest asked Gylfie.

"Er, I heard that Tytos have snake nursemaids. I'm guessing Mrs. P is Soren's," Gylfie answered, watching the two reunite with each other.

"Soren! Oh, it can't be. Every day, I've been looking for you and Kludd, and then this…" Mrs. P looked up from coiling onto Soren and stared at the grey owl in spite, "To be snatched up by this monstrosity."

Twilight recoiled from the words.

"Monstro…?" He turned to face Digger, "The audacity! Digger, who are these tiny owls and why are they talking to Dinner?"

"My name's not _Dinner_!"

"Well, dinner's rather moody, isn't it?"

The snake hissed angrily just as Soren stood in front of Twilight.

"Wait. She's not dinner," He told him, "She's my nursemaid."

"I hate being driven to hiss," Mrs. P said, shaking her head, "So unladylike…"

"Mrs. P, these are my new friends. This is Gylfie," Soren gestured to said owl on the branch, "Tempest, Digger. And Twilight, is it?"

"Charmed to meet you, dinner," Twilight bowed, "Oh, I mean, Mrs. P."

"These three are going to the Sea of Hoolemere," Digger piped up, "To find the Guardians."

"Really?" Twilight questioned.

"What? No, Soren, we need to get you home. Your parents are so worried." Mrs. P said, voice filled with urgency.

"No, you don't understand, Mrs. P. Kludd and I were kidnapped," Soren told her.

"Mercy!" She shouted.

"He's still held captive. I have to find the Guardians. They're the only ones that can save him."

' _From captivity? Yes. From the Darkness infecting him… I don't think they can…_ ' Tempest thought bitterly, face tensing up. Gylfie seemed to notice, only to be blocked by Twilight, who hopped onto the branch in between them.

"An adventure afoot!" Twilight thundered, pulling out an animal horn lute from nowhere, "Danger. Intrigue! The stuff of songs~"

"Oh, no, not the lute~" Digger moaned, jumping off the branch and stuffing his head in a pre-made hole.

"But such things have no effect on me...for I am a poet as much as a warrior," Twilight said, clearing his throat after, "If you will…

 _Though his nursemaid tells him no_

 _This boy will not be tamed_

 _He flies off into danger_

 _To be battered, bruised and maimed~_

"Just because it's sung doesn't make it a song!" Digger complained.

"That poem just came to me, if you will believe it," Twilight boasted, ignoring the smaller owl.

"I think they can believe it," Digger huffed.

"Right…" Soren said, skeptically before turning," Well, sounds like we've got a long journey, so… Mrs. P? Look, you know it's what Da would want."

"That's just why I'm coming with you," She said determinedly.

"What!?" Digger jumped forward, "No! Please don't leave us here. You're the first new souls we've seen in eight moons!"

"If I have to hear any more of his ridiculous owl jokes…" Twilight grumbled.

"They're a Hoot!"

"They are _not_ ,"

"Well, if I have to hear him play one more quote-unquote 'song', I'm going to tear my gizzard out!"

"How dare you!"

"Let's get out…" Soren said, pushing Gylfie and Tempest out the way they came.

"Please, please don't go! Do you even know the way to the Sea of Hoolemere? Twilight knows the way!" Digger kicked Twilight to get him going.

"Of course! Of course, I know the way! We are off the Sea of Hooledance!"

"It's Hoolemere…"

"Hoolemere!" Twilight corrected himself.

"Soren…" Tempest looked at the young owl wearily, "Can we just bring them along? They're going to follow us either way…"

"Alright," Soren announced, "Show us the way to Hoolemere."

_|-w-|_

"Hey, you know, Mrs. P. you might be the first snake ever to fly," Digger complemented, watching the snake in the hollow lute.

"You know, I think I am. And I quite like it too," She chuckled, letting her forked tongue out.

"Tempest," Gylfie slowed down, "You alright?"

"Eh, other then my crappy flying," Tempest shrugged, "I'm good."

"Are you sure?" She pushed on, "You looked a bit tense when Soren talked about his brother…"

"Kludd?"

"Mmhm,"

"...I saw something bad happen to him," Tempest breathed, "What effect it had...I-I don't know…"

"What about that friend you said Soren was like?" Gylfie asked, letting the topic drop.

"Really like digging, doncha?" Tempest snorted.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Mmm, I can spare you a few things,"

"Really?"

"My friend… he's less like a friend and more like an old memory. He just… appeared one day and disappeared the next," Tempest seemed to smile faintly at the memory, "He was a weird kid."

"Oh, joy!" Twilight exclaimed, "It seems some friends have come to celebrate our departure, Digger!"

"What do you mean, Twilight? We lived alone for eight moons!"

Vaguely black shadows were caught by navy blue eyes, making him tense up.

"Watch out!" Tempest's sudden warning made everyone listen. He pulled out the Celestial Bronze katana, wielding it in both talons in its shrunk form.

"Woah!" A vulture shaped Heartless with lanky legs and dragon-like wings dove down from above, almost striking Tempest.

' _And, here we have a problem_ ,' He grimaced, looking up at more of the Heartless appeared.

"Don't they look like Hagsfiends!?" Someone shouted as Tempest tackled one of them. As soon as he go a chance, Tempest impaled the creature with the blade, making it release a hideous screech before it disintegrated.

"Take that!" Tempest spotted Twilight bashed a vulture with his lute, Mrs. P coiled around his neck as he did so.

The limp body plummeted down to the ground, only to disintegrate into black dust before it crashed.

Tempest made his wingtips touch, lighting them with blue flames and diving down towards the largest group. As soon as he was close enough, just under a metre to the closest vulture, he let the pent-up magic loose.

"Azure Arc!" He spread his wings, launching an arc of blue fire at the vulture, decimating them entirely.

"This was a great battle!" Twilight announced as they recovered, "I believe it deserves a song written to great… what was your name again?"

"Tempest…"

"To great Tempest's name!"

"Oh, no, please don't,"

" _Oh~-_

_|-w-|_

"Oh, oh, oh. I've got another one," Digger said after hours upon hours of flying, "Knock, knock."

"Please don't respond…" Twilight begged.

"Who's there?" Gylfie asked, generally interested. That, or there was nothing else to really do.

"Don't encourage him,"

"Well, he's like this when you start singing…"

"Owls," Digger continued.

"Owls...who?"

"Here it comes," Twilight mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Ha! That's right!" Digger cheered, quickening his flapping, "Owls _whoo_."

"I told you,"

"Because owls _whoo_."

"Funny," Gylfie said, trying not to groan. Twilight, however, wasn't as kind.

"Absolutely pathetic,"

"Heh, abso _ **lute**_ ly…" Tempest snorted.

"Oh, don't you start too,"

"It's a very complex one, but is…"

Tempest veered off course, seeing a stash of pages in a tree hollow. Landing on the rim of the hole, he picked up the pages.

 **Entry #18**

Apparently, Outer Worlds didn't originate from the first World. Xehanort says that they come from beyond the border of this Universe, as they leak in from the Multiverse. Why do they have keyholes?

So they existed _before_ the first World got split into a bajillion pieces, some that turn into Worlds, others remain space junk, their core we call Gummi material. They now constantly drift in _EVERLASTING DARKNESS_ , forever separated from themselves.

Got that out of my system, never like it in my system. I don't like darkness, it tastes like oil. Crude oil.

-Xehanort lessons.

 **Entry #19**

χ-blade, chi-blade, _keyblade_. What's the difference aside from spelling? Well, the χ-blade, or Chi-blade, is directly tied to Kingdom Hearts and was forged for it by some godly being or whatever. After a massive war, called the Keyblade War, Kingdom Hearts was displeased with the humans and split the χ-blade into 13 pieces of Darkness and 7 of light. Why the uneven number? The Worlds my never know. Maybe KH just said 'Let's be a jerk to the Guardians of light and give them the lucky number 7, which is six less than thirteen'.

Anyways, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as the people created the Keyblades in the image of the χ-blade. They apparently bribed one of the three deities of their time to create Keyblades out of a piece of their hearts, so they can transfer that power to everyone else.

Apparently, they asked the wrong god, as they asked the Warrior instead of the Forger. So most of their blades look the same until they forged new bonds and created more keychains from said bonds. Or they got some moogle to synthesize one for them. Either or. (Some even say Moogles are the servants of the Forger, as he taught their first gen how to synthesize items. That's one of their many origin stories.)

Well, I guess the Forger was absolutely disgusted by his brother's work so he fixed them. Somewhat. So that's why everyone gets their very own, one of a kind, Keyblades. I think. I don't actually know.

-More Lessons

 **Entry #20**

...The Master's exam… Four years away. Gotta ask Mr. Bald and all knowing. Other than that, nothing new asides from, well, all the worlds we've been visiting. Giant fucking foxes too.

 **Entry #21**

Outer World time is hard to track, especially the ones cloaked in darkness. Some of them run faster, others run slower than regular time, and until the darkness is lifted, they will continue on like that. If darkness spikes, it will either run _extremely_ slow or fast depending on which way it's already going.

So the world we visited today may not look the same after a few months. Even after the damage that 'Zero Reverse' thing, this place won't be the same.

I did some good deeds, saving some kids and such. Even with the no meddling rule, saving people who would've died right in front of you isn't a crime, is it? Xehanort didn't seem to have a problem with it, so I'm just going to do me.

As soon as Tempest finished reading, the pages lit themselves on fire and were burned into a crisp before he could do anything about it.

"Huh, better check on the journal after I leave…" He told himself, a little confused by the self-incineration.

_|-w-|_

"You're not from Tyto forest?" Soren asked.

"Nope, never heard of it before Mrs. Nyra started spewing stuff about race supremacy," Tempest confirmed, shifting on the branch he was perched on.

"Then where did you come from? How did you end up in Tyto forest?"

"Er, I… had a rough landing… in the… storm I was caught in," Tempest half-lied, hoping it would stick.

"Oh, good thing you're okay now,"

Twilight was humming some tune, strumming his lute.

"As for where I came from…" Tempest looked away, listening to the faint breathing of Gylfie and Digger, "I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Master's orders," Tempest answered smoothly with a slight tilt of his head.

"Alright then…"

_|-w-|_

"Hey… Weren't there just two crows following us before?" Tempest asked, flying closer to the middle of the group.

The daylight was waning and the group was flying over a shallow sandstone canyon, a few selective bushes and trees growing on the walls.

"Humm? Why yes, I've been watching them ever since the first one," Twilight huffed.

"Oh!" Digger chirped, "I got a new one!"

"Really, Digger? Must you?" Twilight said, extremely annoyed.

"Know what an owl says when he's pecked by a crow?"

"Guys… there's more now…"

"Ow!"

"That's right! 'Ow'!"

There was a massive group of crows now, some having blue dye painted on their feathers while others had an assortment of multicoloured beads tied into their fluff. One of them had attacked Gylfie.

"Hey! Get out of here!" Twilight shooed, waving his lute around and trying to hit the crows. "Oh, that is it." _Trying_ being the keyword.

"Oi! What the heck?!" Tempest shouted, chasing after the lute thief.

"Oh, let them have it. Good riddance," Digger huffed.

"What about her?" Tempest shot back, hovering in place.

"Wait, who?" Realization hit Digger like a speeding eagle. "Oh, no!"

"Oh, _yes_!" Twilight exclaimed, picking up speed and diving into the canyon to make chase.

"Mrs. P!"

' _At least they aren't Heartless…_ '

The world seemed to warp at those thoughts, some of the crows bursting into misty black comets before reforming into Air Soldiers.

"Holy-" Tempest choked, bringing out his Keyblade talons and blocking an attack from the nearest one. He flipped over to the other side of the winged monstrosity and, in a swift striking motion, carved six lines into its back and effectively detached the wings from it.

Two more Air Soldiers assaulted Tempest from either side.

"Nope!" He tucked his wings and let himself drop out of the sky, letting the Soldiers strike themselves.

"Fira!" And a nice bolt of flame to finish them off.

"Away, you vile creatures!"

Tempest spread his wings again and flew off to the direction of the shouting.

"Aero!"

He collided with a crow, sweeping it away with his talons.

"Tempest! You've arrived just in time to watch this glorious takedown!" Twilight exclaimed. Before anything else could happen, the large grey owl locked talons with Soren. He spun Soren around a few times before launching the barn owl at the lute thief. Knocking the lute out of the crow's grasp, Soren caught it and landed on a small, sandstone plateau.

After kicking away a crow that was too close for comfort, Tempest landed beside Digger and joined with scaring the remaining black-winged birds.

"Mrs. P!" Soren was looking into the open side of the lute, calling out to the snake nursemaid. She eventually came out looking a bit dizzy from all the aerial maneuvers.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Tempest asked out of concern, a little worried from all the hysterical laughing.

"I'm quite alright, deary. It was quite a ride," She chuckled, "Let's do it again."

"Owl, you sure can fly," Twilight said, complementing Soren.

"Thank you, Twilight," He thanked.

"Well, here we are," Twilight said, raising a wing over the huge body of water, "The Sea of Hoolemere."

With the setting sun in the distance and the stars now shining up above in the sky, the sea was a shimmer of liquid gold and sapphire. It looked alive, with the waves hitting the side of the cliff and the constant warping of the water's surface.

"It's just so _big_ ," Soren said in pure awe.

"Yes, it's a right big puddle there," Digger said with a tilt of his head.

"I don't know…" Twilight said, looking a little skeptical, "You really think the Guardians out there?"

"They have to be," Soren replied determinedly.

Tempest had closed his eyes, wanting to test something out.

"Huh, so that's how it works," He muttered, looking out at the group of multicoloured hearts. He identified Gylfie, Soren, Digger and Twilight being the brighter ones, Mrs. P was the one near the ground. There was one in the bushes that he couldn't identify.

"The Band! Finally!" Tempest snapped his eyes open just to face a spiny rodent-like thing. He had light blue face-paint on, some of his spines also having the paint and little beads just like the crows.

"Who's there?" Everyone else besides Tempest said, spinning around. They only relaxed a little upon seeing the rodent...thing.

"Your arrival 'twas foretold. 'Twas foretold trespassers would land on my shore," he said, waving it's decorated staff at the group.

"Look, we mean you no harm," Soren said, sounding a little apologetic.

"Yes, 'twas foretold as well," the rodent waved it off.

"We've flown a long way-"

"'Twas foretold," he cut in.

"And we're very tired," Soren finished.

"Foretold!" He leaped at Soren, his staff almost tapping the owl's peak. "Now, state your desire, owl."

"Wel…"

"Wait," Gylfie hopped off her perch at the edge of the little plateau, "If you really know all, then how come you don't know that?"

"Ah!" the rodent-like thing shuffled over to her, "'Twas foretold there would be one who doubts."

"Is anyone else having trouble with this?" Gylfie asked, looking around.

"Yes, I kind of am," Digger admitted.

"I...I don't know?" Tempest was staring at the rodent was an extremely confused expression on his face.

"Da said, 'guided by the spines of the echidna.'" A look of epiphany from Soren, "Wait! Wait, you're an echidna!"

"I am _The_ Echidna! And it was foretold you would need some help getting there," he proclaimed, waving his staff around vigorously.

"Well, then, I should tell you, we seek the Guardians," Soren said.

"He should already know that," Gylfie said, clenching her beak, a sour look on her face.

"I do, doubter," The Echidna shot Gylfie a look before returning his focus to Soren, "Go on."

"Da said your spines can guide us," Soren looked like he was in pure awe, being in the presence of a legendary figure of sorts.

"And they will! Now, to reach the Tree, keep between the Whale's Fin and the Eye of Glaux." The Echidna raised his staff to show the stars to the group, "Never go outside those stars. Now go! All of you!"

Nobody makes so much as a noise. The Echidna grunts in annoyance.

"'Twas foretold that the Band would hesitate. But that in time would become a family!" He was going off on another rant, making Tempest extremely uneasy.

' _I'm not planning to stay_ that _long._ ' He thought.

"And a family needs all of its members to play their parts!" The Echidna shuffled over to Twilight, "The Warrior-"

"Poet warrior, please. Thank you," Twilight cut in, bowing.

"Hmm, fine, strong and noble." Over to Digger, "The Tracker, sturdy and faithful."

He travels over to Gylfie, and pokes her in the chest, "The Navigator, _who doubts_."

Gylfie, upon hearing that, huffed in annoyance.

"The Guardian, who protects the light of the group," Tempest looked down incredulously at The Echidna.

' _Does he know how close he is to the truth?_ '

"The Leader, whose gizzard is strong," Soren looked hesitant to receive such a privilege.

"And finally, of course, the heart," He leaned down to Mrs. P's level.

"Aw…"

"Wait," He opened his eyes, "Are you a snake?"

"Yes, I am." He shrivelled away in disgust.

The Echidna recomposed himself, waddling to the front of the group.

"You've all come this far, each protecting the other. So go. Look to the sky, and fly." He announced, raising his staff towards the stars.

"All right," Soren spread his wings, "Let's go."

They all took off, one by one, off the plateau and towards what Tempest assumed was their destination.

"Remember, when your wings are weak… your spirits done… and you've flown as far as you can… you're halfway there!"

"What did he say?" Gylfie asked, mildly interested.

"We're halfway there!" Digger chirped happily, "Oh, yeah! Woo-Hoo! This is gonna be a breeze~"

"Sure, bud, sure…" Tempest said, rolling his eyes.

* * *

 **A/N: (Standards are too high) Damn, when did you get that tall? Eh, I'll deal with you later.**

 ***Just doesn't***

 **Follow, review, asked unasked things, etc. Not much else to say other then I was never really happy with this Chappy, no matter what I did with it.**

 **~Storm**


	13. Chapter 12: Bleak Presents

**Disclaimer: I don't own KH or Guardians of Ga'hoole. They belong to their respective owners. Tempest and other original characters belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter 12

Bleak Presents

The sky was grey, the sea, greyer. It seemed as if the clouds could rain any minute from now, unleashing their sorrow unto the earth. The mood of the band? Cold and quiet, like a piece of rock. Not very appealing. Until that is, an avalanche occurs. Then it turns from unappealing to a thing to fear.

"Hey, I've got another one. What do you call an owl magician?" Digger asked. Gylfie didn't answer as she was too busy watching the stars.

Tempest was half asleep. Twilight was singing, which basically everyone ignored. And Soren. Soren was pretty intent on looking for the tree.

"Hey, did anyone hear me? I don't like being ignored."

"Hmmm, I don't know," Tempest answered, only being half there.

"Hoooo-dini! It's great isn't it?" Digger exclaimed, "you see, this joke comes from the great mage Hoodini, who was a great-"

Tempest tuned out the rest of the explanation, instead staring down at the grey waters below. Shadowy silhouettes swam below them, sometimes flashes of light could be seen.

"Gylfie?" Soren turned to look, "What's that up ahead?"

Tempest looked up, seeing a huge wall of mist in the way. Heartless surrounded it, attempting to enter into what was beyond it only to disintegrate upon impact.

"Slow down!" He said, suddenly awake. All of some stopped and hovered in place. Taking a minute to scan, he grunted. "I can't take down that many on my own… Listen! I want you all to dive under the Heartless and into the mist."

"What? I'm not leaving you here!" Soren immediately retorted.

"Honestly, I hoped you would be more compliant then humans…" Tempest mumbled, "I'll be fine. I want to try something out is all."

"Are you sure? We've never seen you take on so many though…" Gylfie queried.

"I say we should trust him," Twilight stated, "He knows more about this 'Heartless' enemies more then we do."

"Is that really your only reason?" Digger questioned.

"Nope!" Twilight replied, "I will be able to write a great opera about his success! If he wins, that is."

"'If'?" Tempest snorted, "Some real faith you've got in me…"

"Stay safe," Soren said before diving down to sea level, everyone else following him.

"You too," Tempest prayed.

He summoned his Keyblade in its regular form just as Soren and the group disappeared into the mist with a few Heartless. With some difficulty, he managed to unlatch the keychain on the end and attach a new one he had gotten.

The effect was immediate, the normal steel grey and burnt umber colour peeling away and being replaced with something else. The finished transformation left it completely unrecognizable.

It looked like part of Annabeth's blade had melded into the Keyblade's hilt, handle and shaft. The guard was composed of organic looking material, somewhere between a vine and bark. The middle of the shaft looked like the surface of an ocean with white foam on the edge with the teeth, which was shaped like a peaking wave. A gem was inlaid in the middle of its hilt, glowing a soft blue.

"Cool…"

Waste no more time, Tempest pointed the tip of the blade down at the water. The nagging at the back of his mind started, pushing him to will the water to rise. He did so, and the roar of a building wave thundered out from behind him.

That caught the Heartless' attention, a thousand heads or head-like appendages swivelled around in response, yellow eyes flashing in the dark.

"Take this, ass-hats!" Tempest exclaimed excitedly, a grin painted on his face, pretty sure that his friends were far enough away not to be caught in the mana powered sea tsunami. The wave parted around Tempest and rolled all the approaching Heartless into its curling wave. As soon as he released the wave, it crushed all the creatures in its mana-infused water.

"Well… that just drained all my mana," Tempest panted. He looked at the keyblade, the gem had stopped glowing and looked like it was on the verge of shattering. "Guess I won't be using that again."

He dismissed the blade and dove after his companions. He was starting to enjoy their company, even if Twilight's singing was absolutely atrocious.

_|-w-|_

"We're lost!" Gylfie shouted, fighting against the frosty winds, "I can't find my bearings!"

"We have to find the island!" Twilight shouted.

"We're in the mist. The tree must be on the other side!" Soren encouraged, "I can feel it in my gizzard!"

"Your gizzard?" Digger asked, flapping vigorously in the winds, "Does anyone else have any more solid information about how much further it is?"

Tempest had his armour on, letting him escape the harsh winds and biting frost of the mists. It made him feel guilty wearing it, having to see the group in such pain, but it was this or losing them completely to the fog.

"Digger, why are you flying like that?" Twilight questioned.

"Like what?" The owl queried, "You know how I fly."

"It's not that!"

"Digger!" Gylfie had taken a look at his wings, seeing them frosted over and glistening white. "Your wings!"

"I think…" He turned his head to look at them before looking forwards with a blank expression on his face. "Goodbye." With a tilt of his head and the slowing of his wingbeats, Digger dropped out of the sky.

"Digger!" Tempest and Soren made the decision to dive after him, leaving the rest in the thick mist. Digger's body had disappeared from sight, buried in the fog.

"Digger!" Tempest could still hear the others as they howled his name, the strain of their voices digging deep into his heart.

Soon, the roaring, frothing water was louder than the whistling wind, and as the angry waves appeared, a sense of dread made its den in the pit of his stomach. It seemed both of them were a tad too slow.

' _Hahaha...suspense? What suspense?_ '

The dread washed away almost immediately when he closed his eyes as he spotted twin hearts, floating inside a wave tunnel. Tempest let go of his breath as they exited the tunnel, Digger laying in the silvery, gold talons of a snowy white owl, her jewel-encrusted helmet crown glinting in the dim, misty light. Words really didn't describe the amount of detail that single item had.

Soren looked shocked and smitten at the sight of the owl as if a living legend was standing, or in this case flying, right in from of him.

"Can you fly with me?" She asked, voice carrying over the howling wind and water.

"There...There are more of us," Soren replied, still looking a little overwhelmed.

"Yes," She said simply with a nod, "We know."

_|-w-|_

Tempest was out of his element, the shadows and hidden places. Standing out here in this wide, bright, open room wasn't doing much good for his nerves and the trial-like setting wasn't helping either.

"I'm concerned about his fleck material of which they speak," The owl that smelt of soot and ash said, "It could be a weapon! Could be a new shield or armour…"

"Having examined them, Your Majesty, two of the three show signs of harsh living conditions and the other, signs of extreme and rigorous training." The snowy owl stated, sitting beside her mate.

' _Uh… I do that on a daily basis already…_ ' Tempest thought, looking at the crowd leaning on the railings.

"It beggars belief to think that these brave owlets would fly here by themselves to spin a fairy tale," A brown owl said, turning to a chuckling great grey owl, "Does my Lord Allomere feel otherwise?"

Tempest narrowed his eyes at the owl in question. Whatever lingered on his feathers didn't seem like darkness, or maybe it was and he was just really tired from all that flying.

' _That's right,_ ' He groaned, ' _I still have to deal with my depleted mana… and I don't even have a single Elixir on me._ '

"Oh, good Glaux. Boron, Your Majesty, if I understand you correctly, Metal Beak is not a myth. He's building a slave army of moon-blinked owlets and is planning to conquer the world was magic pellet debris," Allomere said, strutting around in an exaggeration to show off how unbelievably their story was.

"Less moon-blinked army and more darkness driven…" Tempest muttered, dejectedly.

"Without intending any disrespect, and particularly to my little friends who have been through so much, such a story simply stretches plausibility too far," Allomere continued. A scruffy, old owl started laughing softly. With a quirked brow, Allomere added on. "Does that notion strike Ezylryb as amusing?"

' _He should wash...and is his whole right foot miss!?_ '

"What a cheek!" Ezylryb scoffed, hopping off his padded branch and onto the wooden floor, "What's amusing to me is that you would cover yourself by _besmirching_ these fliers."

"Perhaps my good fellow Ezylryb wishes us to race back to war," Allomere said, mocking the screech owl.

"No, no,"

"Perhaps he'd write a poem about it from his hollow, while the rest of us…" He thinks about it, "Well, while the rest of us had our talons deformed too."

"Uh, huh…"

"But I say caution when the losses could be so many."

"I would never counsel rushing blindly into war, but for a cause such as the one the boy described, for a violation of peace so blatant," Ezylryb spun around and looked Allomere in the eyes, "Of course I'd fight! What other courses to take? And if you think I'm a coward, or I'd simply urge others on, I'll fight you right now!"

Before a real fight could break out, the king of this tree, Boron, stamped his wood mallet, stick...thing on the stone he was sitting above.

"Order,"

' _This really is like a trial…_ '

"Boron, you can judge the winner," The withered screech huffed, hopping back onto his branch.

"Mildly, owls. We are trying to seek the truth here,"

' _Defiantly a_ _trial_ ,'

"The truth?" Soren cut in, sounding slightly annoyed but still in awe, "I told you the truth. The Pure Ones exist. They've kidnapped me and dozens of owlets from our hollows. They want to enslave all that aren't Tytos, and even if they were Tytos they would still possess them. They want to rule the entire world without pity," He took a deep breath, likely to calm himself, "Yes, the only proof we have are words. But words were the only proof I ever had that any of you were real."

Soren looked at all the owls sitting on their branches of power, making sure that his words reached their ears.

"And still, I believed."

The crowd outside was silent. The court wasn't bickering anymore.

"And you would argue with that?" Ezylryb turned to look at the king, breaking the silence.

"I will not argue with it," The king stated.

"Your Majesty, my search and rescue chaw is scheduled to leave on a routine survey on the next full moon," Allomere said, bowing slightly.

"No."

"Perhaps we could-"

"You shall leave immediately," Boron told the Lord sternly, "Take your best owls with you, Allomere. And be thorough."

He stamped his mallet thing onto the stone.

"Dismissed."

Allomere left swiftly, two other owls joining him in the hallway as he left. The others flew out the bottom entrance that led out into the open.

Tempest, Soren and Gylfie left on their own, out the main exit and onto another portion of the Great Tree. The map to this place was excruciatingly difficult to understand, being that this whole structure was made mostly from an organic shape.

"Wow," Soren looked visibly shaken or relieved. Tempest didn't know which, so he just assumed it was both. A logical assumption, no?

"We did it...Soren, Tempest," Gylfie breathed, "We really did it…"

"Mmmm, yeah we sure did," Tempest hummed, glad to be out of that room.

"We really did it," Soren looked up at the bare sky, "I just hope Allomere finds the owlets."

"That would be good," Tempest agreed.

"Oh, to be a young owl with a taste for adventure…" Ezylryb said, startling the group of three by hopping out of a room behind them, "Arriving at the Tree for the first time. Well done, holding your own out in there. Some nice strong gizzards. The Tree always needs them."

With that, he leaped off the rim of the doorway and into the rising sun, disappearing right after that encounter.

"He's one strange owl," Soren said, a little bewildered.

"You can say that again," Tempest wasn't fazed at all.

"I think he might be missing a few talons," Gylfie stated, being the observant one in the group.

"And a good bath too," A new owl appeared, huffing those words, "Gross old owl. You'll want to stay out of his chaw if you ask me."

"Chaw?"

"I'll tell you on to the way to dinner," She scoffed, "You're already late."

"If we're late," Tempest reasoned, "Doesn't that make you late too?"

"Most owls don't like wiseasses. It'd be best to shut your beak if you don't want to make enemies here," She shot him a look. He waved it off.

They followed them down the truck and into a flat area with tables and foodstuffs all around. Tempest could smell the bugs and rats, which didn't sit well with anything really. The last time he had food from his world, it ended up on the ground.

"Look out! Coming through!" An owl pushed through the crowds.

"Now, the Matron's instructed me to give you lot a rundown on the way we do things here," Their unnamed guide explained, "During your basic training-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Soren slowed down, "Basic training?"

Tempest snorted, not out of anger, but an annoyance. He already knew how much of a pain in the ass Chris' Master's Exam was, second-hand experience, though he didn't voice his opinion.

"It takes years of training to become one," She huffed, "Only our absolute best are chosen to be-"

"Wait, who are you?" Gylfie asked. Tempest silently wanted to ask too, but it was already said.

"Are you going to keep interrupting me?"

"Technically it was only once…"

"Now, if, however unlikely, you do have talent, you'll be tapped, or selected, for a specialized chaw, or squadron.

' _Finally, somebody who speaks English and not in slang…_ '

"There's navigation, healing, search and rescue, blacksmithing, weather interpretation, collaring. I expect to be placed in the navigation chaw myself." She scanned over them again, smiling when she looked over Soren, "Name's Otulissa, by the way."

"I-I'm Soren," He said, flustered. Otulissa just rolled her eyes before pushing back a leave curtain.

"I believe your friends are in there."

Tempest put a foot into space, seeing Digger with his face in a bowl of bugs and Twilight still with his lute.

"Digger!" Gylfie quickly bounced over to the table, "Hi!"

"How's the food, Digger?" Soren was calmer in his approach, walking over instead of hopping.

Said owl lifted his face from the bowl, his mouth stuffed with green, pulp, most likely still live caterpillars and said something incoherently.

"He said 'good', but he thinks it'll go better with a little music~" Twilight smirked, pulling out his lute from under his wing. Before he could start singing, however, Digger spat his bugs all over the owl.

"What!?"

"Oh, disgusting," Twilight said, shaking all the spit covered bugs off of him. "I've lived with you for ten moons, and this is what I get a reward."

"Hmmm," Tempest was more interested in the guitar like instrument stashed in the corner of the room. He picked it up the thing and hopped over to the table.

"Wait," Digger tilted his head, "You play too? I hope it's not as bad as Twilight's…"

"Eh, never played one of these before," Tempest shrugged, taking an experimental strum of the strings, "Only basics."

"Well, you do that," Digger then shoved his face back into the bowl.

 **Start** _ **To the Sky**_ **by** _ **Owl City**_

 _Shipwreck in a sea of faces,_

 _There's a dreamy world up there._

 _Dear friends in higher places,_

 _Carry me away from here._

 _Travel light, let the sun eclipse you,_

' _Cuz your flight is about to leave._

 _And there's more to this brave adventure_

 _Than you'd ever believe~_

 _Birds eye view~, awake the stars 'cuz they're all around you_

 _Wide eyes will anyways brighten the blue_

 _Chase your dreams, and remember me sweet bravery 'cuz_

 _After all, these wings will take you, up… so… high_

 _So bid the forest floor goodbye as you race the wind_

 _And take to the sky~_

 _You take to the sky~_

 _On the heels of war and wonder_

 _There's a storm world up there-re_

 _You can't whisper above the thunder_

 _But you can fly-y anywhere_

 _Purple burst of paper birds_

 _This picture paints a thousand words_

 _So take a breath of myth and mystery_

 _And don't look back~_

 _Birds eye view~, awake the stars 'cuz they're all around you_

 _Wide eyes will anyways brighten the blue_

 _Chase your dreams, and remember me sweet bravery 'cuz_

 _After all, these wings will take you, up… so… high_

 _So bid the forest floor goodbye as you race the wind_

 _And take to the sky~_

 _There's a realm above the trees_

 _Where the lost finally found_

 _Touch your feathers to the bree-e-ze_

 _And leave the ground~_

 _Birds eye view~, awake the stars 'cuz they're all around you_

 _Wide eyes will anyways brighten the blue_

 _Chase your dreams, and remember me sweet bravery 'cuz_

 _After all, these wings will take you, up… so… high_

 _So bid the forest floor goodbye as you race the wind_

 _A-and take to the sky~_

 _(You take to the sky)_

 _(You take to the sky)_

_|-w-|_

The six of them were filed into a room that resembled a classroom. Tempest vaguely knew what they looked like, the main school in Twilight Town was on the other side, which was a long ways away from his home. He did pass by it once or twice to catch a glimpse of the Struggle Tournament, but he had stopped using that path after some gang took it over. Assholes, all of them.

"We usually don't do this for new arrivals, but seeing it's the middle of the year and all available mentors are teaching, we will make this an exception," Boron was standing next to a sheet of grey slate stone. Drawn upon it was eight circles arranged in the shape of another circle.

"As Otulissa explained to you, here at the Tree, every owl trains in different skills we call 'Chaws'," Born picked up a piece of chalk and drew in one of the circles. "You'll study tracking," He drew a bird's footprint, "navigating," a circle and a tusk, "combat," a three-pronged whirlwind.

"But maybe you're a blacksmith," He drew an anvil outside the circles. "They supply all the other chaws with tools, weapons and armour. Repairs are also conducted by them."

"Colliering is one of the more dangerous and one of the only Chaws to overlap," A sun-like emblem, "It requires it's owls to be in the Weather Interpretation Chaw as well, for the same skills are carried over."

Some more explanations were thrown at them, like some basic history and law in the Tree.

"You will be tested on all of them, to test your capabilities and such," Boron put the chalk down just as other owl entered the room. "I believe the first one is starting."

' _This was an unnecessary lore dump….whatever._ '

_|-w-|_

 **Entry #22**

We're back at the True Core World, or I have dubbed it, TCW, because its easier on my hands.

As for why we're here...I don't actually know. Xehanort seems to have contacts here, but I don't see a point in having some contacts here. Nothing special happens, just people, people and more people. The only thing entertaining me at this point is music and random memes that seem to pop up once in a while. I should really get new hobbies or just find a big enough space to train…

 **Saki's Letters #10**

Dear Chris,

Master Yen sid visited today. An old guy with a wizard hat, a fluffy beard and a blue robe. He brought a mouse/king (i really don't know) with him. Kage kind of had to restrain me from flipping out. (it was a mouse, Mickey smelled like one ok?) Kage learned Aero (Oreos mmm) on that day while holding me back. I think he got tired of pinning me to the ground. Not my fault, Mickey just has to be less mouse smelly.

Saki

_|-w-|_

"You were amazing during that session," Soren praised Tempest, who was passing the blunt baton to Twilight, "I didn't know owls could fight like that. I always assumed that we fought with only our talons."

"Well, there was some notion in the library that some Guardians throw hot coals that their enemies," He replied, humming thoughtfully, "They must have pretty good aim."

His as a bit jealous of that ability, as even after all that training, he was still crap at aiming. Any shot he got on a Heartless was just plain lucky. Then again, had he landing any shots since leaving Twilight Town?

"Digger's phenomenal at tracking and searching," Gylfie said, a self-depriving, "Twilight's just a great fighter."

"You're good at navigation, Gylfie, " Soren said, "You're the one that got us here. We never would've made it without you."

"He isn't wrong," Tempest grinned, "You're the only one that understood the stars. If not for you, we would've flown outside them countless times."

"I-I'm not that good," She deflected.

"Learn to like yourself a bit," Tempest said, "It'll do you some good."

' _Unlike me…_ '

"Come back! I wasn't prepared!"

"Looks like Twilight is getting his ass kicked. Looks like he's not as good as you thought,"

"That's not very nice, Tempest,"

"Mmmm, nice, no, but true, yes,"

_|-w-|_

"And yet they still call this place safe," Tempest huffed, flying in the center of the lagoon. It was midday and the sun was shining high in the sky. No one else was awake except the guards who worked in shifts. But even they weren't that observant.

He struck down another Aerial Knocker, only to get hit from behind from another one.

"Gah!" Tempest recovered and spun around to strike it, catching it in the head and letting the momentum force it downwards.

"Gotcha!" He landed on the one under him and vaulted off, casting Fira at the nearest Heartless.

Soon, after a little more hitting, Tempest managed to get rid of all of them. He himself had gotten quite a beating, those Aerial Knockers really hurt when they got you in the right spot, but they were otherwise no problem.

After landing on a branch to catch his breath, he took a minute to admire the scenery. Without the Heartless flying around, it felt safe again, the heavy darkness in the air gone without a trace it had been here at all.

' _I wonder if Reverant was like this before it fell to darkness and all_ ,' He looked down at the sparkling, clear blue waters below, ' _Was it like this but larger? Or was it something else entirely? Full of light and life, and bustling with activity._ '

* * *

 **A/N: So, this is a thing. Tempest is... doing things. Ok, I don't know where this is going anymore and I dropped my worldbuilding facts somewhere and now I can't find them. Shoot. Damnit, looks like I'm going to go look for a needle in the fricking mile wide haystack.**

 **~Storm**


	14. Chapter 13: Blacked Out Pasts

**Aqua's time in the Realm of Darkness: Bird with a Broken Wing by Owl City**

 **Because all the other ones are spoilers**

* * *

Chapter 13

Blacked Out Pasts

" _I use to have wings," Chris said sadly, "A tail too before everything was taken away from me…"_

" _How did you lose them?" Nine-year-old Tempest asked, dressed in dark clothes, blond hair an unkempt mess on his head._

" _I got clipped and mauled," Chris explained to the knowledgeable drake. He was often surprised at how fast and calmly Tempest picked things up, almost as if he just needed a reminder to jog his memory. He was no ordinary Armonian, that's for sure. The non-slit-shaped pupils and the flat, clippable, keratin nails were a giveaway._

" _Ouch," Tempest replied, finching, "Who took them away? They can't be just anyone, right?"_

" _They were… something alright…" Chris said, a pensive look on his face, "Really something…"_

" _Oi!" Tempest snapped him out of it before he dove into a lapse of memory._

" _Ah! Oh, sorry…"_

" _No, I'm sorry," Tempest apologized, "I knew that wasn't a topic you really liked…"_

" _Well, I had to face it one day, right?" He laughed, waving it off._

" _..." Tempest just closed his eyes and huffed, "You don't dive headfirst into a lake."_

 _Chris just chuckled good-naturedly at his response, the moment of worry forgotten._

'Just like me, when I was your age...'

_|-w-|_

"Downed owlets. Downed owlets! Come fast!" Allomere had come back, an owl in his talons.

"Allomere is back!" Someone announced, sounding a little panicked to Tempest.

"Quickly. Make way. Some help here, these owlets need attention," Allomere.

"And here I was," Tempest muttered, moving towards the edge of the growing crowd, "Just walking to the archives."

He pushed through, catching a whiff of what he thought was Soren but was too thin to determine.

' _Salt Breath was so much easier to follow…_ '

"Let me pass! Let me pass!" Tempest stood up to see Soren pushing his way through the crowd vigorously, and worried look upon his face.

' _What's his deal?_ '

Tempest walked over to where Mrs. P was after spotting her at the edge of the crowd.

"What's wrong with Soren?" He asked, mildly curious.

"Oh, right. You don't know Soren has a sister," Mrs. P said, a hint of worry in her voice, "One of the two owlets rescued was his sister, Eglantine. These Pure Ones you talk of did something to her. She doesn't seem herself anymore..."

"Hum," He opened a wing and let the musty old potion drop out of the ether. "Take it if nothing else works to heal her. I'll be off now."

Tempest turned away and left, leaving the snake no choice but to take his gift. One of the rulers of the Tree arrived at the site, comforting Soren and taking the jar from Mrs. P.

' _That's all folk_ ,' He glanced back at the thinning masses before moving on. Soren lingered at the platform before moving on too.

_|-w-|_

 _He was playing the piano again, a sad melody pinging off the cords. It had a name, he told Tempest once, but he had long forgotten it. Its origin lay scattered, half in one world, the other, in the core._

" _She was always the one to push me. Both her and her apprentice. They were both good friends and the first to see me go,"_

 _Tempest smiled faintly, letting his Master revel in his past. He quietly picked up his violin and join in, taking over the melody._

" _Dearly Beloved, as she called it," He looked up to the starry night sky._

_|-w-|_

He could see Soren enter the hollow, along with his nursemaid. Tempest would leave them alone even though he didn't get the need to stay beside a sibling. He spent so long being selfish and taking care of only himself that he couldn't really muster the effort to think of 'what-if' situations.

' _I guess I can wait here,_ ' Walking to the nearest book stand. He dropped the journal right onto it, it opens with a heavy thunk.

 **Entry #23**

Found out the large bulk of the internet is clogged with Let's Plays, memes, weird ass compilation videos, heart-rending music covers and more. Damn. I should write my own.

Who am I kidding? I can't sing…

I could get Saki to, but she's more likely to beat my face in at this time. She thinks I'm dead, and the only way over that. Eh, there's a start to everything, right? Not the mauling part, that's just not going to happen soon.

 **Entry #24**

Finally got Mirage down pat. Now I don't have to stay in the sewer systems, which is a great thing.

All these games are pretty interesting, if I had a real opinion in this world. Everything is dictated by laws written a really long time ago, but if it works, it works. I guess… I'm in no position to argue with Laws, being an outsider and all.

There's nothing to fight in this world, sadly. Training is also not an option, there's a risk at being caught with a big ass stick in your hand.

I hope we're leaving soon…

 **Entry #25**

And here I thought I had gotten used to the random crap Fate throws at me, but _NOPE_. NOPE. JUST…

This world's main focus is… _weird_. Lawyers are really popular? And prosecutors are really quirky? And some Archaeologist guy saved the world a few times with puzzles?

I'm not touching this place again when I get let loose. If I remember, that is. God knows unlikely it is for me to reread my other entries.

"It's a trap!" Soren burst out of the room and running to Tempest, who had reflexively shoved the journal into the ether, "We need to go! The Guardians are in danger!"

"What!?" Tempest asked, confused and shocked.

"Allomere is a traitor!" Soren said, hopping off towards to armoury. Tempest ran to follow him, hopping over other owls on the way. "Go get the others and tell them to meet at the main platform!"

"O-okay," Tempest stuttered, not exactly sure what was happening. He focused on all the hearts in the area and picked out the three from the hordes of brilliant, shining hearts. It was quite difficult to do so, as some hearts covered others in their light.

"Gylfie!" Tempest landed right beside her, making the elf owl jump up in surprise. "We need to go, Soren says the Guardians are in trouble, something about a traitor. Go down to the main platform, he should be waiting for you there."

"Wha-I have-" She shook her head, "I'll go."

Tempest ran off before he could see her moving, darting around the corner and stopping in from of Twilight and Digger having another argument.

"We're going after the Guardians," Tempest relayed information, huffing it out, "Soren found something out. He said to meet at the main platform."

"Preposterous," Twilight started.

"Just go! He sounded really agitated by it," Tempest cut him off, "I'll be there soon, just some things to grab."

"Very well," Twilight seemed miffed but went anyways. Digger didn't say anything, only sprinting faster them Twilight, seemingly in competition.

Tempest ducked into an empty room and slammed his keyblade into the ground, cringing at the noise. He fiddled with the keychain and replaced it with the old on, with the light blue gem. It transformed back into its first form, the way Tempest like it.

He shoved it back into the ether and ran out of the room again, flapping over others as he made it into the bay spotting Soren and the others taking off. He tilted off towards them, seeing Soren wearing a single rusty, dented, metal talon covered in coal dust.

"We'll follow the Whale's Fin. It's how they would have gone!" Gylfie shouted, sounding confident.

"Will we make it in time?" Soren asked.

"The Guardians left not long ago," Gylfie said, "We should make it a little after them!"

"What about that mist cloud?" Digger questioned, tilting his head, "Don't forget it almost _killed_ me once!"

"Then we'll just dodge it!" Tempest proclaimed boldly.

"We can't!" Soren protested, "The mist surrounds the Tree completely! There's no opening, not even from above!"

Tempest's eyes glinted turquoise in the dim sunlight as they approached the thick fog. No, the practically _burned_ with the colour as he grinned in eagerness.

He forced his way to the front of the group, confusing them.

"Show, don't tell, as writers called it," Tempest continued to grin.

The wall of frosty mist advanced, making the group buzz with confusion and general discomfort as the mana in the air great to stifling amounts. They didn't know what it was, of course, just a heaviness against their wings and a dulling of senses.

Tempest used the building external mana and infused it with elemental energy from his own mana.

"Aeroga!" A sonic boom was the aftermath of the supercharged Aeroga spell. The huge, green tinted, wind projectile forcing a gaping hole in the wall of mist. And it was still going, the new wall of Heartless outside blasted into oblivion.

"That's not battle efficient, but whatever!" He cheered, seemly not losing any energy but the green glow had disappeared from his eyes. He turned back to the awestruck group. "Come on! It's already closing, so stop gaping at the thing!"

"Right!" Soren was the first to recover from the shock, flying faster and thus prompting the others to do so too.

_|-w-|_

" _You know I can't keep calling you 'Kid' right?" Chris huffed, snapping to summon a new wave of Heartless._

" _Hell if I know," the drake grunted, leaping over a Large Body and striking it multiple times in the back, "You always seem to get around crap with zero drawbacks."_

" _Mmm, I'll take that as a go ahead and give you one,"_

" _Wait," He turned only to get pummeled by an Aerial Knocker. He forced it away and slashed it into ghostly chunks. "I never gave you permission to give-"_

" _Mmm, Tempest," Chris wasn't listening anymore, lost in his imaginary world._

" _...Fine, "Eight-year-old Tempest sighed, parrying an Invisible's blade with complete disinterest._

_|-w-|_

"You sure you can't do that again? That giant, green, blast that took out most of the barrier?" Digger asked as they closed in on the Pure One fortress. Tempest shook his head.

"It was just a release of pent off mana, which this world had a lot off apparently," He told him.

"Well, it was truly magnificent, just like the battle we are soon to arrive upon," Twilight said, still wielding his lute. Thankfully, Mrs. P wasn't in it. 'Cuz that would've been a disaster waiting to happen.

"Mages are rare in this era," Gylfie said, voicing her thoughts, "It's not very surprising that Tempest could draw in some and use it. It had been building up for a very long time."

"The Guardians don't even have a Chaw for it," Soren added, "It really must be ancient."

"See! This is what I mean my jokes mean something!" Digger said, "The Great Mage Hoodini was the last Mage to ever appear. And since he didn't have any apprentices, there were no more Mages!"

"I never thought you were the intelligent type," Tempest hummed, causing Digger to huff. "Also, I think we should save other questions for later."

A ghostly blue glow illuminated part of the mountainside, faint howls of pain and agony bouncing off the sandy stone. Several pyres of flaming coals were spread around everywhere, arches of stone and many cliffs provided cover.

"Let's go," Soren commanded, flying to the blue glow. They landed on a ledge, looking down at a horrific sight.

"The Guardians!" Was Soren's only reaction. The rest gasped in horror or stiffened. Two huge metal trap-like jaws contained what Tempest could only call shiny things as they emitted massive amounts of blue energy, tendrils of it pinning the Guardians to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Well, we can't just leave them writhing in pain, can we?" Twilight bravely suggested.

"No, you don't understand," Gylfie warned, "When Soren and I were at St. Aggie's, we saw what those things can do. They do something terrible to your gizzard. Isn't that right, Soren?"

Said owl was staring at the flaming forest below them, the firelight reflecting off his eyes. Tempest put a wing in front of him, trying to snap him out of it.

"Oi, Soren," Tempest tried with no luck.

"Uh, we've got bats inbound," Digger said, looking back at the team. A swarm of bats were indeed there, moving towards to the immobile Guardians.

"Would someone please tell me why you would want to equip bats with knives?" Tempest asked, after seeing the metallic glints on the edges of their wings.

"Don't mind that. I can down a hundred of those bloodsuckers with or without blades," Twilight boasted.

"Uh...oooh, what about a thousand?" Digger questioned.

"Well, we won't find out sitting on our tail feathers, will we? Come on!" He said in return, gripping his lute harder.

"Wait! Just wait. Of course," Soren shouted, stopping anyone from leaping into the fray without a plan. Not that Tempest would do that. That would be too stupid for even him.

"Soren? What is it?" Twilight asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"The flames…" He trailed off, "That's it! I know a way to free the Guardians."

"No, Soren," Gylfie said, scared, "You can't fly into the fire."

"Listen, Gylfie, I need to trust my gizzard," Soren leaned down to tell her before turning to Twilight, "Twilight, can you take care of the bats?"

"Friend, I'll give you as much time as I can. But hurry. And be careful. Come on!" The Great Grey Owl took off, Gylfie and Digger trailing behind him with the former shaking in subdued fear and the latter eyeing the bats cautiously.

"Why aren't you going with them?" Soren asked.

"There's a threat worse than just bats here, you just haven't seen them yet," Tempest said seriously, "Go, I'm buying you time."

He turned around and launch himself at a bird-shaped Invisible that just appeared, blade wings making grinding sounds and it flapped, creating sparks along the way.

Tempest heard Soren struggle with something before leaving but was too focused on the hollow-eyed beast to care much.

He locked talons with it, dodging the wing swipes and shaking it when it tried to bite him with its serrated beak. After managing to dislodge a claw, he summoned half of his transformed keyblade and slashed the Invisible's stomach, effectively killing it.

Before it could decompose, Tempest tossed it at another Heartless, shearing its head off. He himself tackled a stray Pure One with both his talons summoned, letting it reform itself into a new beast, this one with four wings and limbs all clawing at him. It forced Tempest to back away from it, getting only nicked in the chest from its lengthy nails. Even as nicks, they still seeped crimson fluid that stung.

Tempest hissed at the shallow wounds, ignoring them as he flew under the monstrosity with six eyes to dodge it misty breath.

"Shit," He grumbled, parrying a claw strike from another Pure One that also transformed into another one of the last Heartless. Tempest affectionately named the new type of Heartless, Frank. He would change that soon, but not now.

"Damnit," He swapped out the talons, instead, equipping them to his wings to bolster his speed and summoning Chris' keyblade to make up for the lack of offensive damage. Plus, it was longer too.

A third showed up, clawing Tempest is the back. He stifled a cry of pain and spun around to hit it in the chest area. It was sent flying to the side and the momentum he used on hitting the beast was redirected, fling Tempest towards the second Frank. He slammed right into its face, even if there was no bone to break in it, he could still hear a resounding _crack_ echo from it.

He brought Chris' keyblade forward and drove it right into its stomach. Frank two let out an ear-splitting screech as it desperately clawed against his armoured wing.

The first Frank was approaching, forcing Tempest to make a quick decision. He twisted the blade inside Frank two before pulling it back out to strike Frank one on the head. This, however, let Frank two claw his back again before it was completely dead.

"Grrrr," It was hard focusing through the pain now, having several wounds and all. Frank was breathing on him, all four talons gripped on the shaft of the keyblade and trying to rip it away from him.

"Nope," Tempest smirked, lighting the shaft on fire and watching it recoil from the flames. He headbutted it into the mountainside before stabbing it with his current keyblade, casting Thundara through it and watching as it dissolved into black ooze.

Tempest dismissed his glider and Chris' keyblade as he felt the effect of adrenaline wear off, forcing him to the ground as he felt all the pain from his wounds. Cure wasn't an option anymore, being too weak to cast it and that there was no conduit for him to use.

Despite this, he pulled himself to his feet and stuck a claw into the bubbling black muck that was a Heartless. He clasped his talons around _something_ and pulled it out. It was an ointment, something akin to a potion but in cream form.

He ripped off the cap and dumped its contents onto the vertical stone wall. Tempest turned around and walked back into the cream slathered wall, letting the ointment sink into his wounds.

Tempest sighed in relief as he felt the numbing effects of the ointment activate. The few slashes on his chest could be ignored, for now, the ones on his back were too severe to not treat.

With that taken care of, he watched Soren dive into the charged mana field, a flaming oil lamp in his talons. He threw it at something beyond Tempest's vision before he himself got wrapped into the field and pinned to the ground.

"I'm being useless right now…" Tempest sighed, the blue tendrils of mana fading from existence and he took off. He locked gazes with the main pillar of darkness in this world, Metal Beak's glinting in the firelight. More Pure Ones flooded into the battlefield, most being flanked by the recovered Guardians. Strangely, they didn't transform into their more deadly selves. The one with four wings, talons and six eyes.

Tempest wasted no time tackling one of them, plunging his summoned katana into its body.

Then he saw Soren in the flames again, with another silhouette in the fire. It did not seem friendly.

Throwing the limp body off the blade, he dived towards the fighting duo and landed on an unscorched branch. Soren was hanging on to the other owl, mostly likely Kludd if Tempest had to guess. Soren was wedged between two flimsy branches, only his wings allowed the two to not die in the raging fires below.

"Soren, I'm your brother," Kludd pleaded. Soren reached out to him, and just as he was about to grab hold, the entire tree shuttered and Kludd was thrown into the burning abyss below.

"Kludd! NO!" Soren shifted up the trunk. He looked up at the cavern that was Metal Beak's hideout and scowled. Not noticing Tempest in the trees, Soren broke off a smouldering branch and flew off.

"Humph," Tempest huffed, seeing that Kludd was still alive but only faintly. He hopped down and managed to hold onto Kludd's unconscious form, dragging him up the tree trunk.

The darkness was leaving Kludd at an alarming rate, forming into a thick mist trail that drifted up into the air. It took all the foreign darkness with it, up into the air where it joined up with hundreds of others.

Tempest let go of the Barn Owl in distress, following this stream up and into a huge cavern entrance, the spire place in the middle of the mouth. He dodged the spire and landed on a side ledge, looking down at the fight. Nyra had Ezylryb pinned while Soren was duking it out with Metal Beak, smothering branch in his talons.

A black cloud of darkness swirled above them, slowly growing as Pure Ones outside disintegrated. Then several thousand generic Heartless poured down from above, clogging the cavern entrance and cutting off all light from entering. Tempest cursed, hearing Soren stumble and the glow of the branch fall away, into a chasm.

The oppressive force that was the darkness hanging above him, Tempest couldn't really focus on anything.

He launched a Fira into the cavern, lighting the place up temporarily before it winked out of existence again. Tempest huffed, pulled out the katana and lit it's tip to illuminate the cavern… and drew attention to himself.

"Shit," A black nail embedded itself into the wall behind him before falling apart. He dodged another one before putting the flame out and flying across the room. That didn't help, though, as something wacked him out of the air and pinned him on the ground.

The entrance unplugs itself and the misty black substance solidifies, the mist covering Tempest sucking in on itself to transform into massive, dark blue claw coupled with a feathered wing, like a wyvern. Not the Heartless variant, that Tempest still has a grudge on, but the more mythical one. More as in, Tempest didn't know it if was really real or not.

"Shit, this is going great for me," He remarked calmly. Being pinned down, Tempest couldn't actually see the beast, only the claw, feathered wing and the smell of pellets. Owl pellets. Or Flecks, if you were being technical.

"Take this, foul beast!" Twilight seemed to smack the huge beast with his lute only for the beast to grunt and _smack him away in annoyance_.

Digger had landed beside Tempest with a wooden stave him his talon, which he stabbed the claw. More like poked, but whatever. The point is that it appeared had an effect on the _thing_ , making it shrivel back with a screech.

"Looks like I arrived in time," Digger remarked, tossing away the stick, "We better get moving before it-ack!" A pulse of wind threw the owl away, deeper into the cavern.

"There goes my help," Tempest huffed, getting to his feet. He was getting tired of holding weapons with his feet, and this body for that matter. From what he could tell about the sudden transformation was that it required him to take a different form that was he was accustomed to. Which either meant a quadruple animal or an owl.

He sidestepped a swing, barely missing his head, and launched onto the arm. He idly thought that this Heartless, while big, was a pushover. Sure, it looked like a griffin with claws on the tips of its wings, but it was mostly slow physical attacks.

It raised its arm close to its head, allowing Tempest to swap from the arm to its head. He dug one of his claws into the Heartless emblem emblazoned on its forehead, and used the other to pull out his keyblade, piercing the steel-like feathers.

It let go, using its now free arms to reach for the ant on its head. Tempest kicked himself off just as the beast tumbled out of the entrance.

He took out Chris' pendant, gripping it as the ruby glowed red along with the dragon bead and Tempest's eyes. Not like before, when the foreign mana practically leaked from his eyes, but generally more controlled.

"Firaga!" The borrowed mana swirled around and lit itself on fire, the white-hot bolt of fire striking the falling beast before both disappeared from sight and into the dark canyon beyond.

"Fira," A normal Fira blast illuminated the canyon bottom. Nothing was there.

"That was too easy…" Tempest furrowed his non-existent brows. Something wasn't right.

It was confirmed when a couple hundred emblem Heartless dropped down from above, a Soldier landing on his back. He immediately flipped it away, the colour on the ruby swapping from red to red filtered green.

"Aeroga!" A regular top tier Aero spell carved through the horde of Heartless, providing a tunnel for Tempest dart through. Twilight was fighting off a Red Nocturne, smacking it repeatedly with his lute. It didn't do anything but prevented it from using any spells.

Tempest flanked it and crushed it in his claws.

"Tempest!" Twilight whacked a Blue Rhapsody into oblivion, "It seems we have been separated."

"No shit, Sherlock," Tempest grumbled to himself, casting Fira and using its area effect to clear out their surroundings. "Follow me!"

"Very well."

The two of them dove into the chasm where Soren had tumbled into, finding the barn owl standing there in shock. Metal Beak's corpse was bleeding black ooze, dripping to the ground and starting to spawn Pure Heartless. Only Shadows, which was a blessing in disguise.

Tempest slashes through them with ease, offhandedly thinking how accurate Chris' Spectral versions were, even if they were blue, transparent and glowed.

Twilight went to snap Soren out of his shock while Tempest picked up the dropped mask. Idly stabbing another Shadow, he turned the mask around to the backside.

There was nothing special there, other then some crimson splatter, it was just plain dark metal. He shoved it in the ether.

' _Because why not,_ '

And a waterfall of dark creatures streamed down from above, the armoured Heartlesses targeting Tempest. Twilight had gotten out with Soren, something about the rest of the band.

Basically, he ditched Tempest while using the others and a scapegoat. Lovely.

Tempest dodged a slash from a Soldier, backing up into a Large Body. Instincts kicked in, overriding all logic and forcing his body to lunge up to attack the Heartless tank's head, mauling it with his beak and claws. The single Heartless was his focus, everything else could, in his feral mind, could go suck it.

As soon as the Large Body dissipated, he turned to the army of darkness and charged, completely ignoring the fact it was suicidal. He tore through the generic ones, rapidly shredding through the bulk of Heartless before skidding to a stop at the cavern entrance. By that time, his body was littered with wounds, either bleeding crimson or charred, frozen or numbed beyond recognition.

"You've fought valiantly," Someone spoke over his delirious and half-conscious form, "Now let us clean up for you."

Feeling the adrenaline recede, he spiralled into a dreamless sleep. The first he's had in what feels like a long time.

* * *

 **A/N: Look at me, trying to even out the scales by ramping up the difficulty to Proud Mode. I might've gone overboard, but what's done is done. Nothing to change now.**

 **Also, since this world is relatively shorter than the last one and that I don't have that many backup worlds, I'll need some reader submitted ones. If I don't get any, I'll use one of the backups but once I run out, I'll have to pause and find some. If you are going to submit via the review or PM, keep in mind that I reserve the right to not use it. I have a checklist of what I'm looking for, even if it's not very long.**

 **Well, that a wrap. Exams are coming up so updates may become irregular.**

 **~Storm**


	15. Chapter 14: Bitter Promises

Chapter 14

Bitter Promises

" _Hey," Came Chris' voice, cutting through the tense silence. Tempest shook himself, removing the last tracing of a panic attack from his body. "You okay?"_

 _Tempest flinched but otherwise didn't move from his spot. Chris clenched his jaw. He didn't particularly want to deal with another comatose child, even if this one was still walking._

" _I'm fine," Tempest huffed after a solid minute, the words feeling subdued. Before Chris could get anything else in, Tempest opened a portal and hopped back to that hellscape he had apparently called 'home', effectively dodging Chris entirely._

 _The kid's dedication impressed him sometimes, others, he felt like that Tempest wasn't quite there. There wasn't motivation to do anything, other then his instinctive will to live. Chris might need to correct that one day._

 _He looked out at the sunset beyond the craggy cliffs of the graveyard. Reds and oranges abound, painting the wisps of cloud pink and washing the sandy yellow stones with colour. If only it would set his heart at ease._

_|-w-|_

 _Tempest was sitting in his heart again, alone with nothing around him, not even the distant glow of another heart. The stained glass looked fragile in the pale light it emitted, signalling for him to be worried._

 _He was. And he had right to be so._

Unannounced to Tempest, Soren had crept into the hollow he was being kept in, quietly sneaking in during dawn. He worried about Tempest, even if the healers insisted that the owl was going to be fine. The nasty scratches and amount of blood coating his feathers certainly didn't look fine.

"I wouldn't take another step," A voice said, startling Soren and causing him to take a step back. Looking to his right, he saw that the voice belonged to a Red Tailed hawk with damaged feathers and a scarred chest. "He might just jump up at you."

Soren squinted at the newcomer, not quite able to focus on the hawk. "Why's that?"

"He's prone to outbursts of violence," The hawk said, seeming to shrug, "It only really happens in moments of stress, like right now."

"Who are you?" Soren asked, switching to another topic. "Why are you here?"

"I'm his teacher," The hawk plainly stated, eyes drifting to Tempest's still body. "I follow him wherever he goes and appears whenever he needs me."

With a ruffle of his feathers, the hawk sighed and looked at Soren, unnatural green eyes drilling into the young owl. "Time's up. I suggest you leave."

Soren skedaddled without another warning.

_|-w-|_

Soren found Tempest staring at the distance the day after he had awoken from his coma. In one claw he held a metallic object resembling the Great Tree with a chain attached to it.

"I'll be leaving soon," Tempest muttered, loud enough for Soren to hear, "I've done what's been needed, collected what I wanted. There's nothing else."

"What," Soren started, approaching the owl, "What do you mean?"

"I have a promise to keep," Was Tempest's melancholy reply. He acted as of the feeling was foreign, as if some part of him still wanted to stay.

" _The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep._ "

Tempest exhaled, "Tell the others I said bye." before vaulting off the platform and disappearing into the sky faster then Soren could plead him not to go. All that showed that he was there was a metal mask, a keyhole shape permanently burned into its steel.

_|-w-|_

 _Chris picked at his leather gauntlet, not doing much damage to the sturdy thing._

 _Tempest was running back and forth whilst battling swarms of Heartless and Unversed. His old brown jacket lay on the ground a few metres away from him and sweat was beading on his forehead._

 _So far, he wasn't manifesting any… unpleasant traits other than his general animosity towards humans and a short fuse. Chris took that as a win, fiddling with the clasps on the gauntlet._

 _A stray bolt of fire startled Chris as it passed through his body. Tempest cursed before continuing his onslaught without a moment's hesitation, bisecting a Flood Unversed with a flick of his blade._

 _This had led to the gauntlet fully coming off, revealing part of Chris' hand covered in a black splotch, the part touching the stone he was sitting on was being dyed black._

_|-w-|_

' _Back to isolation…_ ' Tempest sighed, landing on a roof in Traverse Town.

He wouldn't admit it aloud, but being alone was being more and more stressful as days went by. Whether it was because of Chris that he never truly felt alone was questionable, but he was not going to dive down that bottomless pit. Not yet at least. Or maybe never.

Taking a risk, he slipped into the street with his hood up. Flinching at the odd stares from the people, he moved to the heavy shaded side of the buildings.

' _Why am I doing this?_ ' He looked into a window of a shop, seeing the reflections of other people passing by behind him. While they did give strange looks, they passed without screaming at him. ' _What's my goal here?_ '

Scaling up a wall and onto a higher path, he continued on, ignoring the feeling of fear that he felt floating around him. He hopped up onto a low lying roof, looking around at the patchwork of buildings and people roaming around.

Tempest watched as a familiar kid and his friends run down an alleyway excitedly, smiling broadly as he continued on out of sight. He exhaled sharply from his nose, staring at where the boy exited.

Snuffing out the envy in his heart, Tempest turned around and walked off. He needed to restock and get some sleep, maybe take a look at the claw scars on his back.

' _Bandages are in order,_ ' Tempest sighed, santering off down an alley whilst scratching his neck. ' _A pain, if you ask me…_ '

He climbed up onto a roof, took a glance at the random chest on it, shrugged and pried it open. Inside was a blank postcard, a brass ring and a few potions and elixirs. The postcard and ring were put back into the chest along with a few pieces of munny. Everything else was shoved into the ether for storage.

' _Convenient...not for most people, but convenient_ ,' Tempest whipped his palms on his pants before moving on at a slow pace. No hurry at this point, too much excitement for a few days at least.

Tempest clambered onto a flat roof without a vent. Beneath him was a shop, the lights inside were on like most building in this world of perpetual night.

He sat down on the roof, letting his legs dangle off the edge as he watched people walk past. The lamp lights shone pale yellow onto the dull purple of the streets, no warmer than the night itself. No birds chirped, no animals moved, just people without homes.

After resting a little, Tempest continued to move. Soon he had entered into the second district, the presence of Heartless immediately recognizable.

As soon as he touched the ground, one Shadow popped up, accompanied by a Soldier. Unsurprised by the ambush, Tempest threw the Shadow against the build's wall and severed the Soldier's head with the ethereal blade of the key.

He put away the keyblade, dispatching the rest of the Heartless with his bare hands before quickly moving on. Some people were closing in, bogey Chris would jokingly call them.

"There's a lot more Heartless then usual," One of the two people side, their voice coming from just around the corner. "Something doesn't feel right."

"Come on, Leon!" The other one, a girl judging by voice, chirped, "It might just be your imagination."

Something metallic sailed through the air, embedding itself into a Soldier that just appeared out of the ground. A commandless Fire spell was shot at the impaled Soldier, incinerating it on the spot.

' _Eh, heh, nope,_ ' Tempest scrambled up the building side, a little startled by that little show. If there were people like that in Twilight Town, he would already be dead.

"Plus, didn't Sora just come?" The girl asked, "I mean, the keyblade does draw a lot of Heartless."

"There are more than usual even with the keyblade around," Leon huffed, walking into view. "Like there's a second one running around…"

Tempest froze up, cursing under his breath. At least for them, it's just a theory.

"You really think so? I thought there was just one…" The girl skipped in front of the redundant sword-gun...thing wielding man.

"It never stated there was just one Keyblade Master, we just assumed there was," Leon said, hacking through another Heartless whilst the girl pinned another one. "Whether or not there is more than one, it doesn't really matter. The faster he stops the Heartless, the faster we get our home back."

The two quickly sweep the second district of all remaining Heartless, soon moving out of earshot.

' _So the Keyblade wielder is named Sora? Huh, sounds familiar…_ ' Tempest thought, standing up straight. It was somewhat pleasing knowing the kid's name, he did save him after all.

The Heartless seemed to be gone for the moment, allowing Tempest full passage. He hopped back down onto the ground, not feeling the need to run around on the roofs.

"Oh lord, oh lord, oh lord!" A blur of white, gold and blue whizzed past Tempest, a trail of white fur floating in the air.

"Heck…?" Tempest muttered, confused.

Seeing nothing else to do, he follows the weird guy into a secluded alleyway. One store is open, a trail of fur leading inside.

' _An appliance shop?_ ' Tempest entered the doorway, seeing a snow leopard Armonian on the floor, unconscious for some reason. He approached the Armonian, semi-confused, poking him in the back.

' _Definitely out cold…_ ' Tempest sighed. He could try to… no, that one has a hundred percent likelihood of lighting the poor guy on fire.

There was a freezer in the corner of the room, mostly full of ice bags. That could work. That, or just use a Blizzard on him. In all honesty, he could just wait, but that would take too long even for his tastes.

Tempest walked up to the counter, seeing a dirty, used bowl behind it. There was a computer too, but it was probably for business stuff. The ones at the library weren't too great either.

He took the bowl, not really caring about sanitation, went to the freezer and got a bag of ice, dumped it in the bowl and watched it melt. Nothing exciting, honestly. At this point, he was just finding things to do.

After heating the ice up into water, Tempest walked over to the Armonian and unceremoniously poured the water onto his fur. It worked as advertised.

"Who? What? Where?" He spluttered, turning over and looking Tempest in the eyes.

"Tempest, you fainted, and in this shop which I'm going to assume is your's," Tempest told him flatly. The white leopard sticks his tongue out at him before retracting it.

"You look like one of those orphans dad used to ramble about," He stated, sitting up.

"What about that?" Tempest countered, raising an eyebrow.

"Uhh, Christopher, dad called him, a quiet dragon with weak wings and a tail, usually running around getting chased by cats," he muttered, a hand on his chin.

Tempest stiffened at the name. He didn't really focus on the cats part.

"Ah, but what do I know? Dad used to work at Radiant Garden, and that place is long gone," The leopard seemed to be talking to himself now, "I wasn't even born then."

"You know Chris?" Tempest questioned, standing up.

"Of course! Well, not personally, but it's one of the stories dad loves to tell," he jumped up to his feet, looking really energetic all of a sudden, "Plus, you look a lot like his descriptions. Are you his son or something?"

"Uh, sure…" Tempest conceded. Something told him, no matter what he said, he would still be called that.

"Cool!" The leopard grabbed hold of Tempest's hand and started to vigorously shake it. "I'm Victor! Owner of this shop!"

"Err, okay?" Victor let go of Tempest.

"Thanks for that wake up, by the way. I would've been out cold for the rest of the day if you hadn't come," Victor put his arms behind his neck. "Anything I could do for you?"

"Yes, actually," Tempest hesitantly said after a little internal war. Distrust and need of supplies had waged war over control, with both of them falling before urgency. "You sell mundane crap like bandages?"

"Sure do!" Victor cheered, running into the back room. A roll of white gaze flew out soon after, Tempest snatching it out of the air before it could do collateral damage to the unstable-looking shelf behind him. "That'll be one hundred and five of the universal currency, whatever it's called. I honestly don't remember…"

"Munny," Tempest huffed, passing a bag over. Victor opened said bag, shook out the contents and gave Tempest a toothy grin.

"Anything else?"

"No," Tempest said, a little worn out by Victor's exuberant personality. He could feel a headache coming on.

"Well, come back soon!" Victor said optimistically, waving him off.

' _Okay...that's a thing…_ ' Tempest thought, pushing past the door and leaping onto another building. ' _A really weird thing…_ '

_|-w-|_

" _I have no idea what you want," Tempest deadpanned. He knew full well what Chris wanted._

 _The dragon Armonian had conjured up a guitar. His excuse?_

' _I broke it, so I guess that counts as 'killing'.'_

" _Awww, come on Temp," Chris smirked, strumming the instrument._

" _Don't call me that," Was his response._

 _A few days passed from that point. He eventually sang, but never in front of Chris._

" _I saw the doorway in my dream~_

 _I asked myself where does it lead to_

 _I thought the island was my home_

 _The outside world a great unknown_

 _How little I knew,"_

 _Chris was sitting in the background, allowing himself a break. Tempest was laying down, stargazing as he softly muttered the song._

" _That day we split the star shaped fruit_

 _I knew that destiny'd uproot me_

 _I saw it burning in the sand_

 _I tried to fight and take his hand_

 _And then he was gone,"_

 _Chris then noticed the quiet song, smiling as he sat on top of his piano seat. Guitar was in hand, chords already pinging off the strings._

" _I held the blade_

 _It made the darkness fade_

 _I did my best to find_

 _A way to make us whole again_

 _Like back when we were friends,"_

 _Tempest held up his hands, like he was trying to grab the stars and pluck them out of the sky._

" _It felt serene_

 _So simple and so clean_

 _Not all this space between_

 _But life was never black and white_

 _There's shadow where there is light,"_

 _Chris rose from his seat, standing behind Tempest. The drake noticed, but did nothing to shoo him away. With a smile, Chris picked up the next few lines._

" _I woke up from the strangest dream_

 _It almost felt just like a memory_

 _It felt like I was someone else_

 _Another version of myself_

 _And then he was gone,"_

 _Tempest was sitting up now, looking tired and defenceless with his slumped shoulders. He looked worn for someone so young. He acted so mature that it often made Chris wonder who he was looking at. A past figure, or a tortured soul._

" _My past is waiting just beyond_

 _It almost feels just like a shadow_

 _Or could the shadow just be me_

 _The silhouette of somebody_

 _And I'm nobody,"_

 _The drake looked up at Chris, a smile playing on his lips._

" _The sun went down_

 _On this forgotten town_

 _I had my friends around_

 _We watched from far above it all_

 _I always felt so small,"_

 _Chris looked out at the darkening sky, a knot in his stomach._

" _And do they know_

 _The doubt within me grows_

 _That we will meet again_

 _We sat and watched the twilight glow,_

 _I promised we would stay friends,_

 _But summer had to end,"_

 _Tempest looked away, messy hair ruffling under Chris' hand. An innocent pat. Tempest picked up the next lines._

" _I called your name_

 _But you were not the same_

 _And maybe I'm to blame_

 _For I had changed the most of all_

 _I almost can't recall,"_

 _Chris could feel her, somehow. He wondered if she succeeded after all. And if she was still alive._

 _In the stillness, Chris joined his student for a last verse._

" _We met again_

 _But different from before_

 _As something less than friends_

 _And maybe it's too late for us,_

 _To return to destiny_

 _If only in a memory_

 _From somewhere long ago,"*_

_|-w-|_

Tempest woke up on a roof, which wasn't a big surprise. He had put some bandages over the deep gouges in his torso. The ointment hadn't cut it, only numbing the pain for a short while. That and that they had reopened recently.

Huffed, he rolled onto his front and got up onto his hands and knees, wincing as he felt the pain strike through his body.

' _Crappy ointment is crappy. Here I thought it was supposed to heal…_ ' Tempest grimaced. He's not going to touch potion, those things tasted worse than charred feces, which is to say, absolutely horrendous.

Hoisting himself onto his feet and slipping his jacket back on, Tempest walked away. As long as he let it heal, he would be fine. It would mean, however, that he will be stuck in Traverse for a few days.

This place would get old in a few hours, he just knew it.

Time to look for something interesting, maybe that Sora figure. He should be entertaining to look for.

_|-w-|_

" _Hey...Terra…"_

…

" _Sorry I don't visit much anymore. I usually don't have the energy for travelling as of late,"_

…

" _Hunn, well, I know you can't listen to me, being only a piece of Terra's will and all. I just make me feel better, having something familiar around…"_

…

" _I'm being selfish again, aren't I?"_

…

" _I wish everyone else were here...We always seem to be ripped from each other's stories." Chris said, sitting down with his knees to his chest. The ground around him was wet with rain, the one that came every few years in this wasteland of a world._

_|-w-|_

Finding Sora wasn't a hassle, the kid was a walking beacon of light and magic. There was even a trail of elemental magic residue from were defeated Heartless presumably once stood. Well, there were traces of magic that wasn't as potent as the ones created by a Keyblade, so a mage was on their team. Tempest guess there was also a melee fighter too, a gut feeling told him so. Or it was the many random dents in trash cans that gave it away. Either or.

Tempest soon reached the second district's main section, which was completely devoid of life. Only the quiet breeze moved or the clockwork ticking of that weird ass shop.

The bell rang three times and he bolted from his spot on the ground. Something was up, and he wasn't going to stick around to find out.

He saw Sora out of the corner of his eye, the mural on the fountain built into a wall was turning and a glowing keyhole appeared over a butterfly. The water stopped flowing, and the mist emitted died down, leaving all the liquid in the reservoir.

From his vantage point, which behind an extended roof window, he could see the trio waltz out into the open and towards the fountain.

"That was easy enough," The key wielder said happily.

"Maybe it was too easy…" The dog warned, being the voice of logic even if he looked a little dimwitted with his buck teeth.

"What do you know, ya big palooka?" The duck confronted him, looking a little agitated when he waved his magical stick around.

"Not much," The dog 'admitted', rubbing his neck as they continue towards the keyhole that was flooding the area with light, attracting Heartless from near and far.

Tempest tensed, summoning and quietly impaling a Soldier Heartless that appeared behind him. He looked back to check if he was still hidden or not, which he was to his relief.

Before the trio got close enough for Sora to seal the keyhole, a rattling sound was heard, like jingling steel chains or…

' _Armour…_ ' Tempest narrowed his eyes. Sure, it's been a long time since he intervened so he should've grown stronger. Then something clicked in his mind, and Tempest was instantly miffed.

' _When did I care about him?_ ' He huffed in annoyance, letting his ears and eyelids droop down. Even though he thought this, he didn't budge from his spot, the weird soft spot for the boy still stubbornly anchored in part of his heart.

Seeing how the trio was distracted, Tempest slipped down to a lower vantage point. At this point, he was just curious as to what the fledgling could do.

As promised, a Guard Armour dropped out of the sky like a terrifying gift, startling the trio out of their wits. Reasonably so, as the last one seemingly scared them shitless back then.

' _I think…_ ' Tempest thought uncertainty as the trio shook themselves out of their shock and start throwing everything at the Heartless. Tempest pulled out the journal, finding the current battle boring and waited for the second form.

 **Entry #26**

Holy crap. It's almost been two years since I left… well, isn't that a thing.

Well, stuff happened, this and that. We've been stopping more and more for training purposes for some reason. Not that I'm complaining, but I do find travelling to be more interesting. Xehanort's notes are piling high too, sometimes I have to help him clean up his space since...ah well, he falls asleep on his chair most of the time. For a strict, darkness obsessed old man, he sure is human.

Anyways, life is still going on. Whatever Saki and Kage are doing, they sure are missing out on all this amazing stuff out here. I just wished they can join me.

 **Entry #27**

Xehanort brought up my hand again. He told me that I was ready to know what the cure was. Pure light. From a heart. Eeesh, talk about looking for gold in a silver mine.

At least now I have a basis for...stuff. Well, seems I have more thing to do then I thought.

 **Entry #28**

Same old, same old. At least I figured out an infinite storage method or else all that paper would have nowhere to go. Last time I wrote in this, there was only three stacks now there are FIVE. FIVE. And more counting. How much can this man write? It's like he has an unlimited amount of ink for something. Is this what darkness does? Give you a shit load of ink? Cuz that trade-off sure is crappy.

Jokes aside, what I did get was a bunch of books. Novella, math, graphic novels, music collections, that type of jazz. It's gonna keep me busy, so that's nice.

As soon as he heard a screaming duck, Tempest moved slightly and the mage crashed right where he was standing with his book. He was out like a light, as Tempest confirmed with a stiff poke to the back.

' _Looks like the second form kicked in. Same weakness, but just a tad harder to get at, if I'm right,_ ' Tempest thought, ' _A real pain if they're all out_.'

As if to confirm his thoughts, Sora and his anthropomorphic dog friend were thrown over him as well. Spitefully, if Heartless could be annoyed like that.

By the looks of things, Tempest assumed that both of them were out. Sparing no time, he vaulted over the roof and slammed right into the Opposite Armour's claw with his blade. Sparks flew as he flung himself at its head, which was open and exposed.

Its other claw swatted Tempest away before he could reach its head, which was fine. He clung to the claw, climbing to the top surface and snapping the tiny spike off the back end. Like a depressurized hose, the thing cluttered to the ground and dissolved into mist, dropping Tempest to the ground with a thunk.

Rolling over, a clawed foot missed him. He got back on his feet quickly and latched onto the metal appendage which tried to shake his off. On an upstroke, Tempest willingly let go, equipping his glider to maneuver out of another strike and went straight for the head again.

Tempest resummoned his blade again and shoved it in the crevice between the helmet and the body. Seeing all three claws shooting at him, he swung himself around on his blade and over the claws. Said claws crashed into the main body and sent it all toppling over and onto the ground.

"Azure Fira!" Tempest shouted, a little annoyed, and blew up the Heartless from the inside, the blue fire roaring through all the crevices in the armour. If the core wasn't obliterated, he would take this thing apart piece by piece the old fashioned way.

Removing his blade from the still body, Tempest prepared in case the Heartless stood back up again. When it started disintegrating, he let out a sigh of relief and just kind of stood there for a brief second.

' _Right, the keyhole…_ ' Tempest blinked and looked at the glowing void for a second. ' _This isn't my job… so why am I still doing this…?_ '

Taking a wide stance in front of the keyhole, he pointed his blade at it and a wind picked up, ruffling his jacket and making his eyes hurt. Squinting, he lifted his keyblade a little more and a stream of light shoot out from its tip and connected with the keyhole. The sound of tumblers rumbled quietly and a snap, the wind vanishing with the keyhole. Before it could completely close, something popped out of it.

Dismissing his blade, Tempest rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyelids, tired and 'too far above his paycheck'. At least the keyhole would stop attracting Heartless, so no more useless cannon fodder.

Feeling drained and really annoyed, he sat down right in front of the fountain, pulling his hood up as well. As long as no one approached him, he wouldn't move even if he knew that the trio was probably waking up now.

He was a dragon! He wasn't afraid of a pussy human and his pets! It's when their in groups that's terrifying. No wonder why they prosper in groups.

Feeling Sora and the others wake up, their lights intensifying, Tempest stood up with his hands in his pockets. Turning around, he saw Sora, in his red jumpsuit and keyblade in his hands. His companions were trailing after him, weapons in hand.

"Hey, where's the Heartless?" Was the kid's immediate reaction. The duck just looked pissed.

"Didja take it out for us?" The dog asked. "Wait, you're that fella who saved us from the last one of those Heartless."

"We could've taken it on ourselves!" The duck growled, waving around his magical stick like it was the cure-all for unwanted presences. To bad Tempest wasn't a spectral entity.

Tempest, being oh so paranoid, donned his helmet and gauntlets after equipping his wings, shocking the three-person party.

"What!?"

He left without another word, hearing a round of "Wait! We didn't get your name!" before flying out of earshot. Well, that aggravated his wound so more days. Maybe he really should get a potion…

* * *

 **A/N:** So, that ended abruptly. Yes, he basically ignored the Trio by reading and only helped when they were all knocked out. Yes, Tempest just pulled a KH 2 Mickey. And he's really paranoid about people seeing his face and just people seeing him in general. Also, I'm still getting over KH3 shenanigans and I no longer have an update backlog. SO, updates will now be extremely irregular... I'm sorry.

(Maybe I should've thought the 'three-story at once' thing over before diving headfirst into untested water...oops)

*Memory by The Living Tombstone

~Storm


	16. Chapter 15: Coming Migraines

**Disclaimer:** I do not own KH or Kid Icarus: Uprising. They belong to their respective owners, which is still not me. Unfortunately.

* * *

Chapter 15

Coming Migraines

In all honesty, Tempest has the weirdest and most random knee jerk reactions. Watch a kid fight a big scary Heartless that was clearly over his level? Check. Stay because of curiosity instead of actual concern for them? Double check. Question why the _hell_ he decided to stay until they walk up? Well, that one was because Chris told him it was fun to do but also a jerk move. Still, check.

At this point, Tempest wondered when he took too many painkillers at some random point in time or if he should start worrying about his mental stability. Being alone for so long couldn't be good for anyone's mental health, right?

Feeling extremely frustrated with himself, Tempest sat down on a slanted roof and massaged his eyelids. This day wasn't getting any easier and it was starting to piss him off. Maybe it was time to finally leave and hope his wound didn't act up on him.

He could wait another day if need be.

_|-w-|_

Nope. Screw it. He was leaving now! The stubborn kid somehow keeps finding him and it was getting on his already fried nerves. It's like he's leaving a trail of _magical_ bread crumbs for the kid to follow.

After the third accidental meeting, Tempest simply took off into the night. Being the tired prick he is, he didn't bother sleeping, which is why he is now in this predicament.

They say flying in your sleep is impossible. So what about sleeping in flight? Because that's what Tempest's sleep-drugged mind did. Stupid, fatigued mind that hammered away with its migraine.

You have to wonder what the hell someone needs to do to screw up that much. Falling asleep in space, get caught in a portal, stay asleep during the entrance and wake up a minute after because of a _breeze_. Okay, less the breeze and more a _flipping boulder._

' _The inconsistency of my life is going to kill me,_ ' was his thought when he had awoken and dodged the falling rock.

Getting up to his feet from his previous spread eagle position, the immediate fact was there was fire nearby. The smell of ash was quite predominant like something was burning nearby.

Shedding most of his armour but leaving his wings, he looked up and saw smoke billowing up from someplace beyond the forest he was currently in.

' _Better take a look before anything else,_ ' He decided, taking off towards the smoke.

After flying over heavily wooded areas, it became apparent that the smoke was from a burning city, already run into the ground with an assortment of Heartless and what he could only assume was native monsters. After the Half-Blood world incident, it was a perfectly normal assumption.

Soaring closer to the ground to avoid conflict, Tempest looked for a good place to land. The coliseum-like building seemed like a good place, only that it was overflowing with darkness.

Landing on the edge of the wall, Tempest noticed that whatever was in there was already gone, the darkness being a residue of what was the late enemy. Heartless were abundant however, Large Bodies and Soldiers roamed around along with a new type. The bull Heartless from way back then was there too.

Growling, Tempest impaled an Air Soldier that came a little to close with a fire charged bronze katana. He wasn't dealing with such a big horde of Heartless; he would rather take on their boss or seal the world's keyhole and be done with them.

So, going after the pillar of darkness in the distance was a good move, right? All ominous and stuff.

Tempest leaped off the edge and continued on his way. He plucked a white feather from the air as he passed by.

_|-w-|_

When the greenery gave way to tan wastelands then to blackish purple ravines and mountains, he knew something was up. The air was now stiflingly humid and cold at the same time, the weight of darkness crushing down on him. Whatever was emitting this couldn't be just one person, that simply wasn't possible with how many signatures flashed in his peripheral. Well, at least there was a speck of light in all that black. The human army didn't count. Yes, he was spitting them.

Tempest dodged another projectile before grinding his feet into a Darkball. Then he launched himself off of the Heartless to dodge another projectile, the spear of light striking the Darkball instead. Unfortunately for him, it still burned his foot somewhat.

' _Hot!_ ' Tempest yelped, grabbing his foot and lamenting the fact he didn't wear shoes.

He yelped again when a native disgustingly pink, one-eyed monster tried to ram him. Tempest, in a panic, drew the katana and slashed it into halves. It exploded into...white things, not the best description, but it was good enough.

With that dealt with, Tempest continued on his way whilst trying not to think too hard about recent events. Recent events as in the Sora kerfuffle. Or burning his foot.

After he flew over the huge mountain that acted as a wall, something else became apparent.

"Now that's what you would call an army... huh, I didn't know they could be so big," Swatches of land were covered by humans, feebly defending against hordes upon hordes of horror monster rejects. "Woah!"

Something was flying faster than those floating monsters, zipping past Tempest and towards a far off castle. What caught his eye, however, was the beacon of bloody darkness that it was spewing out.

"Damn," He grunted, "Looks like I found my target."

A wall of Heartless immediately formed, plated arms forming a Heartless emblem shield in front. Irritating.

"Azure Fira!" The blue fire shot bounced off harmlessly, falling to the ground. He cringed inwardly.

"Well, crap."

The whole wall of Heartless charged, either not smart enough to know that they were in the air or their commander got a little too prideful. Either way, Tempest folded his wings in and dove down, the Heartless missing him completely.

"Nope, not dealing with lackeys," Tempest huffed, flying forward towards the beacon darkness.

The castle itself was intimidating, if not a little camouflaged in all that black and purple. The most distinctive part was the ring-like trench around it and the most interesting thing about it. Typical things for a dark castle was present, spikes, weirdly coloured fires and looking a little run down. That, or it was cobbled together in a matter of days.

Weaving through the cloud of monsters, native and Heartless alike, Tempest kicked through a stained glass (opaque) window. Landing in a pile of glass shards, a bolt of light shot at him. Tempest, being extremely tense at this point, ducked of reflex.

"Woah! Talk about friendly fire."

"I wouldn't call it that, angel face. We have other problems to deal with; he's not worth our time."

Tempest got out of his hunched position in time to dodge a charging knight, rolling forward to do so. Some guy ran in, lugging a slab of iron around. Farther away, there was some kid shooting bolts. Bringing a kid to a battlefield...well, who was he to judge? He was eleven with the mental age of an adult...how does that even _work_?

Tempest held out his hand and reconstructed his wings back into a keyblade, darting towards the distracted knight and striking its helmet.

"Hey, I guess he is helping us!" The kid said somewhere behind Tempest. The drake flipped over to the back side of the knight to avoid a huge beam that it fired.

"The more the merrier, as they say," The club dragging human grunted, swinging his disgusting excuse for a sword.

Finding a chink in the armour, Tempest shoved his keyblade into it. What can he say? He likes exploiting weaknesses.

"Azure Fira!" The knight let out a strangled growl, teleporting away.

"Damn," Tempest hissed, kicking away a lone Shadow.

"Did you see that, Lady Palutena? Blue fire! Man, that's so cool!"

' _And the kid's lost some marbles_ ,' Tempest thought.

Charging his blade, Tempest flung it at the knight, completing a Strike Raid as it sheared off a piece of armour, looking weirdly organic and it rotted into nothing on the ground. The knight, with the pulsating green under armour, returned it gaze to Tempest. It grumbled something unintelligible before holding out its hand, summoning a wave of Heartless. Specifically, emblem Heartless.

A Mino, what Tempest had decided to name the bull Heartless, pinned him to the wall. A Red Nocturne blasted fire spells while a less bulky Defender sat atop the Mino's back, covering its weak point with the dog-headed shield.

He shoved his keyblade into the shield's mouth, pushing it away to keep it from reaching him. A shoddy Reflect spell was used, haphazardly weaved together to combat against the rapid fire Fire spell.

He lost his concentration somewhere, the Reflect shield withering away after a single fire spell.

' _Shit_.' A yellow Heartless darted in and unleashed a direct Thundara attack, setting his bones on fire.

Feeling his conscious get drained and his strength fading from the repeated spells, he pushed for a last ditch effort to push away the Mino, pulling his legs up and putting them against the horns. That didn't get him anywhere, and the adrenaline was starting to wear off.

"Need a little help?" A bolt of white grabbed the Heartless mount's attention, exposing its backside. The shield dropped his keyblade; the worst idea ever.

With his feet firmly planted on the horns, Tempest drew back his blade and stabbed it into the back. After the menace let out a strained cry, he pumped the remaining mana into the blade. The energy blade that it formed pierced through the body.

Tempest brought it up then right down, slicing the Mino and Defender in half. The other Heartless seemed to retreat, leaving the exhausted drake alone.

With a feeble attempt to stay awake, Tempest crashed to the ground. Not a good time for a power nap. Heck, he even failed to notice the pillar of light shining down on him.

_|-w-|_

"Look, Miss," Tempest said, rubbing his eyes. "I'm no hero. I'm just some guy lugging around a promise."

After waking up, things had been a mess. His torso had been wrapped, his face and snout bandaged. His jacket and t-shirt had been taken off to do so.

Now he was sitting before Palutena, goddess of light and stuff. After the previous kerfuffle, he wasn't too keen on talking to anyone. Doesn't really matter at this point because of how insistent she is.

"A promise?" She questioned, the grip on her staff tightening.

"Yes," Tempest answered lamely, face still in his hands. Was he on pain meds again?

"So that means you won't be staying long." he was definitely on pain meds.

"No, not really," She had already shown a fair amount of knowledge about the multiple worlds, even referencing the fact that she knew what a keyblade master was. There wasn't a point to be subtle with this woman. "I'd leave on a better note usually. Sealing this world's keyhole is that better note. I might stay until then when all's said and done." ' _Me and my bleeding heart…_ '

"Really?" She exclaimed a little too loudly, "The Heartless problem we've been facing alongside the Underworld threat is becoming too big to deal with alone. A keyblade wielder accompanying Pit might make the mission easier to accomplish, plus the fact you can fly," She noted off.

'' _Flying'_ ' Tempest mentally scoffed.

"I guess," He said, shrugging, "Nothing else to do anyway."

"Great!" She turned to leave. "We'll be leaving soon, so stay sharp!"

"Can I have my jacket back now?" Tempest called after her. When she didn't reply, he groaned. "Guess not…"

Then her words sank in.

"Now? Already? Come on...whatever, it's not like she can hear me..." He started, before just giving up. Nothing would change her mind at this point. It was like she took her goddess status a little too far.

Getting up from the medical cot, Tempest wandered out of the Greek styled building and into a corridor. Gold and off coloured white decorated the walls and floor. Nothing special to be honest as there were no statues or cravings worth noting.

' _Where am I supposed to even meet this Pit character? She never specified a location…_ '

He opened another door and walked into another corridor, this one a little more decorated. Just a few trees and stuff, nothing too exotic.

Doors lined the sides of this hallway. Armoury, forge, and some other stuff Tempest didn't take the time to read.

At the end of the hallway was some elegantly carved wooden double doors. They looked pretty out of place in a place full of white and gold. Too European in a greek architecture building, with all it's pillars and jazz.

He pushed it open and entered into a dimly lit room. Another double door was at the right wall, pulsing with odd magic. Sort of like it was made to be a teleporter.

 _OK, you guys. Time's been moved up_.

Tempest yelped at the voice whilst the kid back at the castle burst through the doors.

"Oh, hi mister keyblade master," he chirped, skidding to a stop.

 _No time for chit chat, Pit. You've got to hussle. You too, Tempest_.

' _Maybe the kid isn't as insane as I thought…_ '

The kid, Pit as Tempest has to remind himself, ran right for the double doors.

 _Just follow Pit. He'll be leading._

"Fine," Tempest huffed, equipping his wings and going after the kid. The doors flung themselves open, crashing into the walls with a resounding _bang_. Light spilled in but the angel kid (as Tempest just found out but still tries to remain calm) just jumped out.

Tempest followed suit.

"Me and my bleeding heart…" He groaned, getting used to the light.

"So, what's the matter?" Pit asked to what Tempest assumed was Palutena.

 _Medusa, Leader of the Underworld troops, has brought the fight to us. Her forces are invading Skyworld as we speak!_

"That doesn't sound good," Tempest muttered, whipping out his katana and shearing a weird mouth monster in half.

 _That, and she appears to be controlling Heartless as well. There's been several reports about seeing an anthropomorphic cat in the ranks as well_.

"A what?" Pit asked.

"She means, in layman's terms, there's a human looking cat with the Heartless," Tempest translated, kicking away an Air Soldier before striking it with a Thunder spell. "Which isn't a good thing…"

"Oh, right, I knew that," Tempest rolled his eyes at the comment whilst Palutena just chuckled.

 _Back to the fight at hand._

"Right. Medusa's probably getting back at us for taking Dark Lord Gaol out of the picture," Pit hypothesized. "Or she's aiming to take out the keyblade master."

"How many people know of our existence?" Tempest hissed. He was starting to miss his jacket, but now wasn't the time to ask.

"Pretty much everyone. It's not a very well kept secret," Pit admitted.

"Okay, new topic. I want some info about this world since you seem to not care about world equilibrium," Tempest demanded.

 _Sure. There are several gods and goddesses in our world. Some of them good, some side with evil and some stay relatively neutral. The bigger gods, like me, have their own realms. The underworld for Medusa, Skyworld for me and Poseidon gets the seas._

 _We can also raise armies too. Before Medusa turned all the angels to stone, they were my main force. The Underworld relies on their monsters and the Sea...doesn't really have anything if I remember correctly._

"Hey! I still exist, remember?" Pit shouted.

 _Of course. I didn't forget you._

"Great, is there any limitations I should know of before crap hits the fan?" Tempest asked, wanting to change the topic.

 _Pit can't actually fly on his own. I granted him the power of flight, which is only safe to use for five minutes. Past then, which is soon..._

"If my flight is going to run out soon, we should get the commander. To speed things up," Pit suggested.

"Greatest idea I've heard all day," Tempest grinned. "After you."

"Right!" Pit said.

 _One word of advice. Their commander is Hewdraw._

"Hewdraw?" The angel questioned. "Like this guy?"

' _Ahahaha, nope, still loose marbles…_ ' Tempest blanched, looking ahead and clearing out waves of enemies. At this point, he didn't care what he was hitting. He had Sun's Fate out and he wasn't messing around anymore.

 _Speak of the devil and he shall appear-there he is right now!_

Right in front of the two was a flying hydra with three heads and no wings. Tempest started to question his own stability now.

"He can fly!?" Pit cried, looking a little jealous.

 _I think the only one who can't fly by himself is you._

"But Tempest-"

"These aren't on autopilot if you're going to ask," Tempest refuted, following the angel closely.

At that statement, Pit just winced. There wasn't a better reaction for that type of comment.

"Ouch. That's harsh," He said.

 _Don't sulk, Pit. It's undignified. But you're right; attacking the leader is a good plan._

They charged up to the huge serpent, approaching from the tail to the head. The scales were different shades of dark purple with spikes jutting out. The underbelly of the beast was creamy white, also lined with spikes. How this thing flew with fins made to be used in water was a mystery Tempest didn't really want to tackle.

"Hello there."

"Oh, it's snack time."

"Mm, what a tender little morsel."

"I AM NOT A SNACK," Pit shouted, sounding extremely offended. A deeper meaning was there, but Tempest wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"I'm tired of this already. I'm going to-" Tempest was interrupted by a torrent of shouting by the Hewdraw heads.

"Crush you!"

"Grind you into mush!"

"Destroy you!"

"It was my turn!"

"No, it was mine, you just-"

"It was MINE, you imbeciles!"

"Uh, that's some dysfunctional brotherhood," Tempest remarked.

"Tell me about it," Pit agreed.

 _This is never going to end. Just end it already_.

As if the Hewdraw heard Palutena's telepathic messages, all of them shouted at the same time, "EVERYBODY, SHUT UP AND FOCUS!"

Tempest, as his first move, got up onto the rightmost Hewdraw's neck and clung to its scales. One head twisted back and shot a blast of energy at him, only for him to move and the bolt to hit its back.

"Hey, watch it!

"The little bugger's on our back!"

"Then make sure to hit him!"

The scales were too thick to pierce, so Tempest just dodged and let it hit itself. Quite boring, needless to say.

' _Why did I agree to this? I just woke up from sleeping a day and now I'm FIGHTING OF ALL THINGS_ ,' a pause ' _WITHOUT FOOD_ ,' Tempest pulled out his katana from its sheath and stabbed it at the scales, not expecting it to go through. Which it did.

' _Right. Celestial bronze. Heavenly metal. Right, I keep forgetting…_ '

Activating the recently found Blade Charge, the katana cleanly sheared off the head. It screamed at it went, something Tempest didn't think was possible.

"BROTHER!"

"YOU'LL PAY!"

They then started another screaming contest, shouting insults among other things at Tempest. At least Pit was having the time of his life taking pot shots at the heads with his bow.

Soon, the leftmost head snapped off with a _squelch_ sound, falling down through the cloud layer.

"I would like my jacket back after this!" Tempest shouted at the winds. "And maybe another meeting after the painkillers wear off!"

He didn't get an answer. Tempest had the sick feeling that Palutena was eating popcorn right this second for some reason…

Soon, Pit had handed out enough damage for whatever kept the Hewdraw afloat to short circuit. Well, everything, as they say, was history.

The body and last head tumbled out of the sky and disintegrated in mid-air, white flakes swirling like an angry white tornado. Heartless immediately filled in the space where the Hewdraw was, a winged Assault Rider at its center.

 _The power of flight is running out. I'll leave you to take care of the Heartless. We'll go after the Hewdraw Heads._

"Wait, there's still alive!?" Pit exclaimed.

 _Hewdraw heads can live without a body, so we better go after them_.

Pit's wings flared up with energy, forcing him to dive down below the clouds.

"But-" Tempest mentally facepalmed, "Fine!"

"So you're the lackey with the Keyblade Maleficent keeps talking about!" A fat, onesie wearing cat boomed. Tempest, realizing that he was sitting on the Winged Rider (Yes, he is aware that he isn't creative). "Well, old Pete is gonna teach you a lesson!"

Pete looked at all the Rapid Thrusters, Green Requiems, and Blue Rhapsodies that floated around him. Then back at Tempest with a grin plastered on his face.

"ATTACK!" The cat commanded, the horde of assorted music tastes and engines swarmed the skies.

Lighting the tip of Chris' blade with blue fire, Tempest swung it with a wide arc, launching a wave of fire at the cloud of Heartless.

"Azure Arc!" Half of the Heartless got lit on fire, but that didn't hinder the number of spells being flung his way.

"Hnn," Tempest grimaced, dodging the Blizzard spells like his life depended on it. Which it did. One hit and he would drop out of the sky.

The Requiems had started healing the Heartless and the Rapid Thrusters grazed his skin.

"Aero!" A small tornado formed in front of him. "Fira!"

Fire mixed with the tornado and launched it forward, consuming multiple attacks and enemies as it went.

Tempest executed a thundara charged Strike Raid, flinging the keyblade at the horde and watching it zap the surrounding Heartless out of the sky. The bronze katana was in his hand before any Heartless could take a chance and attack him now.

"Oh, you're getting on my nerves!" Pete steamed, pulling back on the Winged Rider's reins, "You're gonna get a great big serving of Me!"

Despite the weight of its cargo, the Rider shot towards Tempest with its lance held forward. The drake barely dodged it, the tip grazing his bandages and cutting them loose.

Tempest rolled away from Pete and his mount, trying to get some distance between them. They were fast, but not fast enough to catch him.

Tempest slipped behind them and lit the Rider's tail of fire. Then he tackled the fat cat, tossing him off his mount and into the great unknown.

"Try again, cat!" He taunted, feeling a wave of darkness swallow up Pete and disappear. A portal, if he wasn't wrong.

 _Pit is still dealing with the Hewdraw heads. He'll be fine so I'll appreciate it if you clean up the mess this 'Pete' left behind_.

"Alright, but I better get my clothes back!" He grumbled.

 _Well, aren't you a morning person._

Tempest just gave up and started clearing the disorientated Heartless. There really wasn't room to argue with that goddess.

_|-w-|_

"So you _did_ give me painkillers," Tempest growled. They had returned to home base, as the goddess called it.

So _that_ was why he was so lenient (and extremely grouchy) with helping them...Well, it seemed like he was already wrapped knee deep in this conflict. Better find that damnable keyhole before his sanity starts slipping.

"Yep, sure did," Palutena confirmed whilst Pit ran around in the background, doing things. "You sure didn't have a good reaction to it, so I don't think I'll be using it more."

"I hope you don't. My head doesn't hurt this way…" Tempest said, slipping his t-shirt on.

"As for living conditions… you'll just have to take the couch. All the other spots are taken," Palutena shrugged apologetically. Tempest had a feeling she was just messing with him again.

"...Okay," Tempest conceded. He placed his hand on his sheath, noticing something missing. "What did Pit do to my sword?"

"Oh, he said he was going to give it an upgrade," She said, "Not sure what he was going to do with it though."

"For a hole in the ground, he sure is stuck up about weapons," Tempest deadpanned.

Said angel stuck his head out from one of the many doorways with a pout on his face.

"I can hear you, Tempest!" He shouted.

"Your goddess here can do worse, so cool it!" Tempest snapped back.

"Don't talk about Lady Palutena like that!" Pit fully stepped out of the doorway.

"Make me!"

"Well isn't this entertaining."

"NOT HELPING."

It thus devolved into meaningless shouting. He's never had this much fun in days.

* * *

 **A/N:** I had fun writing this chapter...That's it. Have fun. Also, would you people like the non-existent fourth wall thing? I honestly don't care, but if no one says anything about it, I'll do whatever.

Also, as clarifacation, no, Tempest wasn't actually on Painkillers for the most part. Palutena did give him some, but Tempest is just a paranoid little prick.

R&R, I guess. These things are new to me.

~Storm


End file.
